Honeybee Day (Mitsubachi no Hi)

What is Honeybee Day?

Every year on March 8th, Japan celebrates "Honeybee Day," established by the All Japan Honey Cooperative and the Japan Beekeeping and Honey Association. The date comes from a wordplay reading 3 as "mitsu" and 8 as "bachi," forming "mitsubachi," the Japanese word for honeybee. It's a day to recognize the vital role honeybees play in nature and agriculture, give thanks for the gifts of honey, and reflect on how to create environments where bees can thrive.

How Bees Support Nature and Farming

Honeybees do more than collect nectar — through pollination they support both nature and agriculture.

• Pollination heroes: Many of the crops we eat are said to depend on pollination by bees and other insects. In Japan, honeybees are used to pollinate greenhouse strawberries and melons, while tomatoes and other nightshade vegetables, which produce no nectar, are pollinated by bumblebees instead.
• Two species in Japan: Both the Japanese honeybee and the Western honeybee are kept in Japan. The Western honeybee, which gathers more nectar, was introduced in 1877, and almost all honey sold in supermarkets comes from it.

Fascinating Facts About Honeybees

• Not to be confused with Honey Day: Separate from Honeybee Day, August 3 is "Honey Day" in Japan (8 = "hachi," 3 = "mitsu"), and May 20 is the UN's World Bee Day.
• The bee dance: When a bee finds a source of nectar, it returns to the hive and performs a "figure-eight dance" to tell its fellow bees the direction and distance to the food source.
• A lifetime's work: A single worker bee is said to produce less than a teaspoon of honey over its entire lifetime.
• A tightly bonded society: Honeybees are social insects living in colonies. All worker bees are female, and a female larva raised only on royal jelly becomes a queen.
• Honey keeps well: Thanks to its high sugar content and low moisture, microbes struggle to grow in honey, making it suitable for long storage. Note, however, that honey should not be given to infants under one year old.

Small Wings, Great Abundance

Honeybee Day is a chance to recognize how much a small creature can contribute to the world. Individually tiny, but through their tireless work, bees help beautiful flowers bloom and bring rich harvests. On March 8th, as you savor nature's gift of honey, why not adopt the spirit of the honeybee yourself — valuing your own role and sharing the joy of helping others as a "sweet reward"?

Tips for Enjoying Honeybee Day

• Drizzle honey over your morning yogurt or toast and slowly savor its rich aroma and deep sweetness
• Take a moment in a nearby park or garden to quietly watch the honeybees that have begun their activity with the arrival of spring
• Explore different types of honey (clover, acacia, manuka, etc.) and find your favorite based on taste and aroma
• Consider planting flowers on your balcony or in your garden so bees have more places to gather nectar

Diligent Effort Bears Golden Fruit

March 8th is a day to believe that your own quiet effort will one day bring "sweet rewards" that brighten someone's day. Just as honeybees carry hope from flower to flower, may your warm words and actions bring happy changes to those around you. May today be an especially "sweet" day for you, full of energy and bathed in a golden glow!