(CNN) North Korea celebrated the 85th anniversary of the founding of its army Tuesday, a significant date in the country's calendar.

The day is marked with a public holiday, and despite the USS Michigan, one of the US' most powerful submarines, arriving in South Korea Tuesday in an apparent show of force , there was no sign of tension in Pyongyang as North Koreans took to the streets to celebrate.

CNN is in the country now and captured some of the holiday activity.

A post shared by Will Ripley (@willripleycnn) on Apr 24, 2017 at 9:16pm PDT

Mansugyo cafe is buzzing with people enjoying the seven different kinds of beer on offer and making the most of a rare day off.

This popular "beer parlour" was famously visited by President Kim Il Sung and his son Kim Jong Il in 1974.

A post shared by Will Ripley (@willripleycnn) on Apr 24, 2017 at 9:23pm PDT

The cafe has been around for decades and offers up local delicacies, like dried pollock, washed down with a beer made entirely of rice.

Dried pollock is a popular bar snack in North Korea. This is the Taedongang brewery with seven kinds of draft beer. I'm not a beer expert, but it's good!🍺🐟 A post shared by Will Ripley (@willripleycnn) on Apr 24, 2017 at 9:35pm PDT

In the supermarkets, there's very little choice in what food people can purchase, with only a few local products available. Most shops carry the same cans, and shelves are largely stocked with goods imported from China.

Canned duck soup and canned meat from China for sale in a North Korean supermarket A post shared by Will Ripley (@willripleycnn) on Apr 24, 2017 at 8:37pm PDT

And despite North Korea being a socialist country, while some goods are distributed freely, many are still purchased with cash.

Rare look inside a North Korean supermarket, where many of the products come from China. This market is particularly popular because it was inspected five years ago by North Korea's Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un. A post shared by Will Ripley (@willripleycnn) on Apr 24, 2017 at 8:36pm PDT

If you're in Pyongyang and have the cash, "Junko" bar is the place to go. The tropically themed bar and coffee shop is in a hotel that's popular with Chinese tourists and affluent locals, and a cocktail there can set you back a cool $13.50 US.

Despite current tensions running high, tourists are still visiting the secretive nation.

As is customary on national holidays, students perform an hour-long mass choreographed dance routine to celebrate army day while tourists look on.

Tourists snap photos of dancing North Korean students. Regular tours continue despite the highest tension in years. A post shared by Will Ripley (@willripleycnn) on Apr 25, 2017 at 1:07am PDT

On a public holiday, or any other special occasion, Pyongyang's citizens also celebrate by dancing in the streets wearing formal, colorful clothing.

The 85th anniversary of the Korean People's Army is a public holiday in North Korea, which means a rare day off for Pyongyang citizens. You often see dancing in the streets on holidays like this. A post shared by Will Ripley (@willripleycnn) on Apr 24, 2017 at 7:58pm PDT

Known as Hanbok in South Korea, this form of traditional dress is called Joson Ot in the North.

North Korean women dressed in their finest Joson ot (traditional Korean dress) A post shared by Will Ripley (@willripleycnn) on Apr 24, 2017 at 8:00pm PDT

Adults, especially men, traditionally dress very uniformly in North Korea.

Children, however, can often be seen in colorful clothing -- mostly imported from China.

There are signs that some younger people might be trying to modernize their dress, but as a rule, as an adult, there doesn't seem to be much desire to stand out from the crowd.

You often see children in Pyongyang dressed in bright, colorful clothing, contrasting the more conservative darker outfits worn by many adults A post shared by Will Ripley (@willripleycnn) on Apr 24, 2017 at 7:57pm PDT

Like everywhere in the world, little boys can be seen sporting small guns as toys.

But this is especially true in this militarized nation, where even nurseries are full of toy tanks, missiles and guns, as well as books and stuffed animals.

A North Korean boy brandishes a toy gun as his country celebrates the 85th anniversary of its army A post shared by Will Ripley (@willripleycnn) on Apr 24, 2017 at 7:56pm PDT

There are a number of events and military ceremonies over the course of the day marking the 85th anniversary of the Korean People's Army, and convoys of military personnel take to the streets, greeted by waving citizens.

It's army day in North Korea. Women wave to a passing military convoy. A post shared by Will Ripley (@willripleycnn) on Apr 24, 2017 at 10:28pm PDT

A typical North Korean poster. This one says "Rush forward to implement the revolutionary tasks set forward by Marshal Kim Jong Un." A post shared by Will Ripley (@willripleycnn) on Apr 24, 2017 at 11:09pm PDT

There are also a number of propaganda posters hanging in Pyongyang that celebrate the regime. Some are specifically up for army day, others adorn the streets all year.