Yesterday was March 3. For Japanese people, it is the day they bring out their traditional dolls to decorate their houses. It was the Hina Matsuri (Doll Festival). Every year, they prepare platforms covered with a red carpet where a set of ornamental dolls (hina-ningyō) will be displayed.

The dolls represent the Emperor, Empress, attendants, and musicians in traditional court dress of the Heian period (794-1185). During that period, straw dolls were set aboard boats in rivers to symbolically banish misfortunes. Since then, sets of dolls are displayed each year to wish for good luck, health, and happiness.

I was in Tokyo on that day last year to take a flight to San Francisco. I still had time to explore Tokyo, so I decided to visit the 5-star hotel Meguro Gajoen. The annual Hyakudan Hina Matsuri takes place there. It is usually held from the third week of January until the last week of March.

Considered one of Tokyo’s fanciest displays of Hina Matsuri dolls, it is held at the hotel’s culturally relevant Hyakudan Kaidan. This is a series of seven traditional rooms linked by a 100-step staircase. It was preserved in the old Gajoen building. The building was torn down in 1988 because of the construction done at the Meguro River. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has assigned it as one of Tokyo’s tangible cultural properties since 2009.

The hotel only opened the Hyakudan Kaidan to the public for the Hina Matsuri dolls exhibit. Antique dolls from different parts of Japan are being displayed. The entrance fee costs a pricey amount of ¥1500. No photography is allowed inside, but I have taken a few secret shots (as always, lol).

As for this year, I haven’t seen any doll but I bought a Hina Matsuri cake from the convenience store.