Japan has a way of doing festivals that’s uniquely their own. Rows of stalls selling aromatic food, mini-games where you can try and win a prize, and people walking around in colorful yukatas are just some of the indispensable things you’ll see at a Japanese festival.

One of the festive days in Japan is known as en-nichi (縁日). En-nichi is a day tied to different Buddhist and Shinto gods, and it was traditionally believed that visiting a temple or shrine on their special day would bring blessings from the gods. During this day, food and game stalls are set up outside the temples as something for the crowds to enjoy, and en-nichi became a custom of fun and festivities for people in Japan.

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, a lot of crowded activities have become increasingly hard to do. With this in mind, a Japanese company partnered up with a festival goods retailer to bring a “Self En-Nichi” project to people who still want to enjoy en-nichi in the safety of their own homes. You may recall our article introducing the one featuring Sanrio characters. You could think of this one as the authentic, standard variety.

The “Self En-nichi” box has items that can help you replicate Japanese festival activities at home. This includes festival games that almost every Japanese person is familiar with, such as a shooting gallery game and a “super ball scooping” game, where the object is to scoop up as many balls from a pool as you can in exchange for a prize.

There’s also a variety of other items that are associated with Japanese festivals. For example, the box includes sparklers, which are traditionally lit during summer festivals in Japan.

Some of the other novelty festival items included are very intertwined in Japanese culture. There’s a drinking cup in the shape of Mt. Fuji, an LED Japanese fan, and a mask of Hyottoko, a comical character from Japanese legends.

The “Self En-nichi” box is available to the first 200 people who pledge at least 9,800 yen on the project’s crowdfunding page. The crowdfunding period will last until July 31, 2020, with delivery scheduled from early August to early September 2020.


By - Jen Laforteza.