今年は”珍”現象も　博多祇園山笠　開幕

July 1st marks the start of the Hakata Gion Yamakasa festival, a quintessential summer event! Magnificent decorated floats have been unveiled throughout Fukuoka City! Unfortunately, it was raining this morning. Despite the rain, people stopped to take pictures with their smartphones. This person was also snapping photos. Their target was this! Standing 11 meters tall. This is the eighth float, the Kamikawabata-dori float, which runs through the streets! Just look at the scale! Both the front and the back... It's a float filled with the dedication of the doll makers. Tourist from Taiwan: "I saw it on Instagram. I thought it was amazing, so I came." Q: What do you think in person? "It's so beautiful. It's wonderful." Tourists from Shiga and Tokyo: "I thought it was amazing. It runs like this, so beautiful, it's incredible." The Hakata Gion Yamakasa festival opened on July 1st. Decorated floats are on display at 13 locations throughout Fukuoka City. This is the No. 11 Yamakasa float from Kawabata-dori Shopping Street, specifically the Kawabata Chuo-gai float. The title on the front is "Kanjincho," dynamically depicting the famous Kabuki scene of Minamoto no Yoshitsune and Musashibo Benkei passing through the Ataka Barrier. The back of this float features KBC's theme, "Let's Create a Unique Future." Hosoya-san and Yamazaki-san, posing together, are also on the float! In fact, something unprecedented in Yamakasa history is happening this year in Kawabata-dori Shopping Street. It's the arrangement of the floats. Report by Shinpei Noguchi "First, the decorative float Kamikawabata-dori, then the fifth float Doi-ryu, then the eleventh float Kawabata Chuo-gai, and finally the sixth float Daikoku-ryu. This year, due to the coordination of the towns in charge, four floats are lined up in a straight line, creating a hot spot." With the Doi-ryu and Daikoku-ryu towns in charge, it's the first time that four floats have lined up in a 400-meter shopping street! This year, Kawabata-dori Shopping Street is sure to be a spot to watch! Masatoku Takegahara, the general manager of the eleventh float Kawabata Chuo-gai, said, "It's unusual. I'm 78 years old, but I can't remember ever seeing anything like this. First, I hope people will enjoy the decorative floats until the floats start moving, as that's the real thrill of the Yamakasa festival." The city of Hakata will be filled with excitement until the Oiyama-kasa on the 15th!