Takatori town in Nara prefecture is in the midst of its month long Hina Doll festival. Started eleven years ago, the festival runs annually from the 1st to the 31st of march, and contains a staggering number of Hina doll displays, some of which are over a hundred years old.
A unique feature of Takatori's 'Machiya no Hina-meguri' (Town house Hina tour) is that the dolls are displayed quite literally everywhere throughout the town; inside shops, in cafes, in the street and even in the windows or hallways of private homes. This year, 92 separate displays are on show, and getting around all of them is quite a challenge.
The highlight is possibly the enormous exhibit on display inside the town meeting hall, which includes a mountainous, multi-staged set of dolls and a diorama of Takatori castle and its environs.
A two-minute walk from Kintetsu Tsubosaka-yama station takes you straight into a world of colour and festivity, where you can enjoy street stalls selling local dishes, antique shops, cosy cafes and of course, the largest collection of traditional Hina dolls you are ever likely to see.
