The Hakata Gion Yamakasa festival concluded at dawn on July 15 with the climactic “Oiyama” race, as teams carried one-ton decorated floats through a 5-kilometer course in central Fukuoka. Starting at 4:59 a.m., the first team, Higashi-nagare, performed the traditional “Kushida-iri” at Kushida Shrine before leading the procession into the streets. Shouts of “Oisa!” echoed as thousands of spectators lined the route. Among the seven competing teams, Nishi-nagare recorded the fastest time at 29 minutes 18 seconds.
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