Happy May Day

May Day, or International Workers' Day, is not officially designated by the Japanese government as a national holiday, but because it lies between other national holidays or "Golden Week" (April 29-May 5), it is a day off for the vast majority of Japanese workers. On a side note, even though May Day fell on a Saturday this year many Japanese often find themselves in the office for at least part of the day on standard Saturdays. Workers take May 1st off not so much to join street rallies or labor union gatherings but rather to take a few days of vacation in an uninterrupted string, however, some of the major labor unions organize rallies and demonstrations. Today in Nagata an annual fair was held near Shin-Nagata station to celebrate International Workers' Day, the completion of a park near the Tetsugin 28 statue, as a memorial and reminder of the Hanshin earthquake and a general excuse to drink beer, grill foods and have stage entertainment including the police marching band. Pictured is a bloke dressed in summer yukata and tabi.