The Japan News by The Yomiuri Shimbun
LIKE A FAIRY TALE
People enjoy swimming in a pool while dressed like mermaids at Mermaid Academy Japan in Minami Ward, Nagoya City. This new kind of “mermaid swimming,” while wearing colorful swimsuits and mermaid-like fins, is gaining popularity. Mermaid Academy Japan offers practice sessions for mermaid swimming. At a practice session held on Sept. 4, 16 people from around the city swam in a 5-meter-deep pool, skillfully using large fins attached to their feet while wriggling their whole body. According to instructor Shoko Goto, 42, about 100 people so far have experienced mermaid swimming through the sessions. She said mermaid swimming “allows you to experience the world of a fairy tale.” (Sept. 19)