Japan's Coming of Age Day is a sure sign of winter, arriving after New Year celebrations and ahead of the cherry blossom parties of early spring.
The national holiday is held on the second Monday of January. Citizens around the nation turn out to admire the elaborate outfits young people don to celebrate the milestone from child to adult. The age of adulthood has been lowered from 20 to 18, but many of the participants are still 20-year-olds.
The men usually wear sober black suits, but the women are resplendent in kimonos woven in lustrous patterns — often of flowers — and a bright array of colors, many with elaborately constructed hairdos and fancy handbags.
In photos by chief Tokyo photographer Eugene Hoshiko, throngs of young people can be seen Monday milling about on the streets of Yokohama, a city that forms part of Greater Tokyo. The women are wearing fur muffs to keep off the chill. One woman chats on her cellphone. There are wide smiles and self-conscious poses, selfies and hugs.
