Today is Coming of Age Day in Japan, a public holiday so that young people who turned 20 years of age (the legal age for being an adult in Japan) can attend the coming-of-age ceremonies held by municipalities across Japan. But things are very different this year due to COVID-19.
In Yokohama, a state of emergency has been declared by the government covering Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture (where Yokohama is), Saitama Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture. We usually see a lot of young people going to attend these ceremonies or after they have attended the ceremonies. It is a time for them to get together with school friends, since many have since gone to different universities or started working.
Today, though, was a subdued day. Even the park outside Yokohama Stadium, which usually is full of people, was almost bare.
Chinatown, usually bustling on weekends and public holidays, had less than half the usual crowd on the "main" street.
A street behind that, there were even fewer people.
Chinese New Year is a month away. The state of emergency should be lifted by then. Hopefully.
No comments:
Post a Comment