Ocean Day
Ocean Day, or Umi no Hi in Japanese, is a celebration of the sea and her relationship and importance to Japan. The ocean has played a significant part in the history of Tokyo, and Japan. During the Edo Period, one of the reasons that Japan was so effectively able to cut itself off from the rest of the world, was it's existence as an island nation. The arrival of Captain Perry and the black ships in Tokyo Bay, via the sea, forced Japan to accept American requests to re-open her doors to the world.
Facts About Ocean Day
Ocean Day, also referred to as Marine Day, is a relatively new national holiday on the Japanese calendar. It was celebrated for the first time in 1996 after much debate in the National Diet. Previous to this, it was known as Marine Memorial Day, but was not classified as a public holiday.
July 20th was originally picked as the fixed holiday date for Ocean Day. This was the day that Emperor Meiji returned to Yokohama Port on his ship Meiji Maru, after an Imperial tour of inspection of Hokkaido and Northeastern Japan in 1876.
In 2000, the Government reviewed the policy on national holidays and introduced the 'Happy Monday' concept for the first time. The idea is to make the best use of public holidays by having 3 day weekends. If you look on the Japanese calendar there are a number of festivals that are now listed as being on the second or third Monday of the month. In 2003, the offical celebration of Ocean Day changed from July 20th to the third Monday of July in any given year.
Don't you just love this policy!
Ocean Day Activities
This is a modern national holiday so there are no traditional events associated with it. However, many aquariums and swimming pools in and around Tokyo will have special events and discounts on this day.
If you're feeling the heat, there's also numerous beach parties that Tokyoites will flock to - it's hot in July! Popular areas include Kamakura, Enoshima, and Zushi, as well as the man-made beach in Odaiba.
