Once the tug is over, you cut a piece off the rope and take it home: it is said to bring good luck.
The rope arrives in two sections of one hundred metres and twenty tonnes each and is joined on the spot in the middle of Route 58, which is the only road wide enough. It is one metre fifty-six in diameter and has two hundred and eighty side ropes of seven metres, which are the ones you hold on to. The pulling lasts about half an hour, or until the rope has moved far enough. The day before, the banner parade goes along Kokusai-dōri.
The Naha tug-of-war has been held since the fifteenth century, with rules written in 1812; interrupted in 1935, it was revived in 1971 for the municipality's fiftieth anniversary. The rope, woven from rice straw, was registered by Guinness in 1995 as the largest straw rope in the world, and the registration was renewed in 1996 and 1997.
ℹ️ You watch from the street and there is nothing to pay. The banner parade is on Kokusai-dōri from 10:25 to 12:55, the tug at the Kumoji crossroads on Route 58 from 13:30 to 16:10. ⚠️ It is among the most crowded events of the year in Naha, and anyone who cannot cope with crowds should stick to the parade. Route 58 is closed.
🚉 沖銀本店前 · 3 min walk
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