Water Balloon - Yo-yo Balloons

Yo-yo Balloons

Yo-yo balloons are a common type of water balloon found at matsuri festivals in Japan. Typically small, round, and colourful, the balloons are filled to a diameter of about 75 mm with air and roughly 45 mL of water. The ballon is clipped or tied closed and hung from an elastic string with a finger loop tied at the end. This gives them enough weight and bounce to function as a yo-yo, earning them their name. The balloons are often won in a game (Yo-yo Tsuri or just yo-yo) where they are set floating in a tub of water. Players "fish" for the balloons with a hook at the end of a twisted paper string. As the wet paper line breaks easily, the game is often likened to goldfish scooping in terms of difficulty.

The Wii video game Ennichi no Tatsujin includes a virtual Yo-yo Tsuri game.