The day is marked by those who turned 20 in the past year after April 1 or will be 20 before March 31 this year (Photo: AP)
However, in Japan's disaster-hit northwest ceremonies were tinged with sadness as young people remembered classmates who perished in the 2011 tsunami (Photo: AP)
Crowds of kimono-clad ladies and suited young men offered prayers at Tokyo's Meiji Shrine over the holiday weekend (Photo: AP)
As more than four thousand people gathered at Tokyo's Toshimaen Amusement Park yesterday, the fog of hairspray used to fix exquisitely coiffured perms hung in the cold air as young women queued for a roller-coaster ride (Photo: AP)
Many pay more than US$10,000 for their glittery kimonos, with beauty treatments such as elaborate nail decorations often costing hundreds of dollars more (Photo: AP)
Formal “coming of age†ceremonies, which began as a rite of ancient samurai families, were held nationwide for Japan's 20-year-olds (Photo: AP)
While many festive ceremonies are held in various venues throughout Japan, the city where the theme park is located invites its new adults to Disneyland for the occasion every year (Photo: AP)
Dressed in Japanese kimonos, a group of Japanese youths who celebrate turning 20 years old, the traditional age of adulthood in Japan, take a photo following a Coming of Age ceremony at Toshimaen amusement park (Photo: AP)