From “Mic-key, Mouse!” to “Hin-a Ma, tsuri!”

The Japanese celebration that takes place on March 3 in Japan goes by many names: Hinamatsuri, the Doll Festival, Girl’s Day, the Peach Festival. No matter what you call it though, the way it’s supposed to be celebrated is the same. Families with young daughters set up a display of dolls, with a noble lady and lord dressed in garb from Japan’s Heian period. Then, they eat sushi.

Specifically, they eat chirashizushi, a dish made with vinegared rice and a variety of colorful toppings. Since most of these toppings are brightly colored, chirashizushi has a fun, festive feel to it, and it’s getting an extra dose of cuteness this year thanks to a Disney chirashizushi set.

Online marketplace Belle Maison’s Disney Hinamatsuri set comes with a selection of 11 different toppings, including smoked salmon, smoked shrimp, and string-sliced kinshi tamago omelets. The real visual standouts, though, are the pretty pink Mickey Mouse-shaped kamaboko (fish sausage) slices, plus the identically shaped carrots.

While you’ll have to make a pot of white rice yourself (or in your Twin Chef rice/curry rice maker), the set, which ships frozen, contains everything else you’ll need. Preparation is incredibly simple: just mix the rice with the included vinegar pack, then put some on a plate or bowl. Since individual diners can add toppings to their tastes, making chirashizushi is a fun way to involve young kids (or adults without much in the way of Japanese cooking skills) in getting the meal ready.

But like we said, eating is only half of the Hinamatsuri celebration, and so the set also comes with two porcelain dolls, one of Minnie and the other of Mickey, clad in courtly kimono fashions, plus a dais, lanterns, and screen.

The set, officially called the Momo no Sekku (Disney) Set, is priced at 12,870 yen (US$117) and can be purchased online here.

Source, images: @Press
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
[ Read in Japanese ]

Follow Casey on Twitter, where he can’t look at lotus root without feeling hungry.

[ Read in Japanese ]