Hen weekend on Sado Island Part 1: I was sanban

My friend was going to move to San Francisco in mid-July, and she just got engaged, so a hen weekend holiday to Sado Island was organized in her honour.

Sado Island is one of those tucked away places that maybe gaijins would be more attracted to exploring — for the very fact that it is a lot less crowded and has a more untouched feel to it. It’s also not a convenient location (subway -> shinkansen -> overnight hotel stay -> ferry -> Sado Island) which would not lure your average Tokyoite.

Like all hen parties, this one was unique in its own right, complete with identical T-shirts and number tagging. I was sanban (number three) — there were eight of us in all — as we joked that we were like a tour group, and so, “marked” attendance before we set off to another location (ichiban, niban, sanban, yonban…). Corny, I know! LOL!

The T-shirts caused an absolute riot wherever we went — the locals would ask us why we wore the same T-shirts and were curious that there was such a thing as a hen party which is a something that doesn’t exist in Japanese culture. People just got married without any grand send-off because the wedding itself is probably a big enough party, I reckon.

Isn’t this gorgeous?

Sado Island is just off the coast of Niigata, by the way, and is about two hours on the shinkansen from Tokyo and another hour on the Jetfoil ferry (highly recommended as it’s the fastest way to get there).

I’ve never been part of such a big group of women travelling together and I must say it was one of the best times I’d ever had.

No related posts.