水風船(みずふうせん)

A common summer toy in Japan. Small, colorful water balloons are a staple at Japanese summer festivals (夏祭(なつまつ)り), where 水風船(みずふうせん)すくい (water balloon scooping) is a popular game — players try to scoop floating water balloons with a paper hook.

Common collocations

• 水風船(みずふうせん)すくい: water balloon scooping (festival game)
• 水風船(みずふうせん)を投(な)げる: to throw water balloons
• 水風船(みずふうせん)を割(わ)る: to pop a water balloon
• 水風船(みずふうせん)を作(つく)る: to make water balloons

Cultural note

At Japanese summer festivals, 水風船(みずふうせん)すくい stalls feature a tub of colorful floating water balloons. Players use a paper hook (紙(かみ)こより) to try to lift them out before the hook dissolves. The scooped balloons are kept as prizes.

Related words

• 風船(ふうせん): balloon
• ヨーヨー: yo-yo water balloon (another festival variant)
• 金魚(きんぎょ)すくい: goldfish scooping (another classic festival game)