The Keio Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku hosted its big Hinamatsuri event for 2023, offering a perfect opportunity to experience Japanese culture. Celebrated annually on March 3rd, this major Japanese festival is a fascinating tradition.
Hinamatsuri is a festival where families pray for the health, prosperity, and happiness of their girls. It is especially popular for girls ten or younger.
It’s simple. Hina dolls are placed on a tiered platform. They wear traditional Japanese clothing. The figures are the emperor, empress, and other Heian-period imperial court members. Miniature furniture and accessories are included. The festival officially started in 1687.
For photography, the Hina dolls are excellent subjects for stunning and artistic images. You can experiment with various angles, lighting, and composition. That will showcase the detailed beauty of the display.
The festival atmosphere provides ample opportunities for candid shots. Tokyo has events attended by families and children dressed in kimonos. Well, that didn’t happen for me at Keio Plaza Hotel, but it happens at other places.
The Keio Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku puts on a great doll display every year. And 2023 was no exception. The photos hopefully give you some idea. I always make the same complaint about it. It’s small.
I was lucky for this photoshoot in that my timing was wrong. The Keio Plaza is one of Shinjuku’s most famous hotels, and upmarket foreign tourists love it, so I expected to see many people inside. Not this time. I had the lobby where the display was to myself. I started shooting right away.
Usually, the emperor and empress are the most prominent of the dolls due to their occupying the top tier of the display platform. In 2023, it was different. Many dolls were in front of them! That meant you couldn’t directly photograph the two main characters! And from the front, shadows were on them, destroying the chance for any photo from that angle. I settled for a side shot.
After wiggling the camera around to get the best angle, I got my photos. How I wish I had taken a long zoom lens with me. But using that in a hotel might have seemed ridiculous to onlookers!
Rohan has lived in Tokyo for 30+ years. He loves photography and plans to capture the entire city.
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