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aquariums, dive, end of rainy season, festival, give thanks, Japan, Marine Day, mud ball, ocean bounty, Ocean Day, ocean importance, Sea Day, snorkel, surf, Swim, third Monday in July, Umi no Hi
Marine Day (Third Monday in July)
Marine Day (Umi no Hi), also known as “Ocean Day” or “Sea Day”, is a Japanese national holiday celebrated on the third Monday in July. In 2020, the holiday will be observed on Thursday, July 23, the day prior to the opening of the Tokyo Olympics. The purpose of the holiday is to give thanks to the ocean’s bounty and to consider the importance of the ocean to Japan as an island nation. Many people take advantage of the holiday and summer weather to take a beach trip to swim, snorkel, surf or dive. Other ocean-related festivities are observed as well. “Mud ball throwing” is a popular event. Mud balls are composed of “effective micro-organisms (EMs), which help breakdown and eliminate sea grime. National aquariums host special water related events. The date roughly coincides with the end of the rainy season in much of mainland Japan.
The day was known as Marine Memorial Day (umi no kinen bi) until 1996. Communications Minister Shozo Murata designated the day in 1941 to commemorate the Meiji Emperor and his 1876 voyage in the Meiji Maru, an iron steamship constructed in Scotland in 1874. The voyage included a trip around the TÅhoku region, embarking on a lighthouse boat in Aomori, and a brief stop in Hakodate before returning to Yokohama on July 20 of that year. However, it was not designated a national holiday until 1995, when it became the first holiday in the summer months.