To coincide with the school entrance ceremony season, an event is being held at a theme park in Matsue City where penguins walk around the park carrying school bags on their backs.
Matsue Vogel Park, a flower and bird theme park in Matsue City, has an annual event where penguins walk around the park wearing costumes that match seasonal events such as New Year's and Halloween.
Starting from the 23rd of last month, in time for the school entrance ceremony season, penguins have been taking a 100-meter round-trip walk carrying school bags handmade by our staff and wearing name tags with a cherry blossom pattern on them.
In order to reduce the burden on the penguins, the backpacks are made of felt and other materials to make them lighter.
Of the eight penguins, the youngest, 1-year-old Keitaro, has been given a playful touch by wearing a bag similar to those used by kindergarteners instead of a school bag.
Visitors had fun walking and taking pictures with the penguins, who were carrying colorful school bags such as pink and light blue.
Atsushi Yamada from Matsue Vogel Park said, ``We're making cute costumes and walking around.The flowers are blooming beautifully right now, so please come and see the penguins and the flowers.''
The penguin walk with a school bag on its back will be open to the public twice a day at 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. until the 14th of this month.