World's Largest Tug of War Contest, Naha Okinawa

The rope is 90,000 lbs and 200 meters long!

 The world's largest tug of war contest is held annually on the island of Okinawa in the city of Naha. Approximately 25,000 people attend this event every year. We missed it last year, but now that we are on within the last few months of our tour here on the island we are trying to make sure we get in all the things that's on our bucket list. This was one of the events. The day started with Elyce and I meeting some friends at the hospital and then driving down to Naha. We started around 1030am so that we could make it in time for the parade and to avoid any traffic. The drive was quick and easy, which is unusual, because whenever we try to get to the airport in time we get stuck behind the worlds longest string of "yellow plates". Anyway, Jason had the good idea of parking at the DFS mall and then taking the monorail to Kokusai Street. Great idea! We made it to Kokusai Street just in time to see the first group march down the street in the parade.

 So the parade wasn't exactly like the parades back in the States. Instead of floats and balloons, this parade consisted of several groups of men who carried very ornate decorations on top of a very large bamboo pole. Each group had around 20 or so men dressed in their parade garb. They would take turns trying to balance this one tall bamboo pole with the ornate decoration at the top. I know I'm not explaining this very well, that's why I have pictures!

The parade also had a lot of children performing karate or traditional dances. Their wasn't much music but there were plenty of chants, drums, bells and the intermittent pops of firecrackers. We had no idea what they were saying but we tried to mimic them as best as we could.

After the parade we stopped to get some lunch at Helios on Kokusai Street. If you haven't eaten here before I highly recommend it. The restaurant is open and airy with an American pub style feel to it. It has a good selection of microbrews. I had the German lager which was excellent! After having Orion all day, it was like my tastebuds were hit with the flavor hammer!

Jason enjoying his German lager!

Lina having lunch at Helios on Kokusai St. 

After lunch we made our way to Rt. 58 which was shut down for the tug-of-war contest. Several blocks downtown was shut down for this event. Rt. 58 is probably the busiest thoroughfare on the island, especially downtown. So to stop all the traffic on a Sunday is a big deal. I think only the Naha marathon attracts a crowd as big as this here on Okinawa. As you can see in the picture above, the rope is massive! It's much taller than the Japanese security guard next to it. The loop that you see is the beginning of the East side of the rope. Across the street on the "West" side is an identical rope. The two loops were connected prior to the beginning of the contest.

The rope is massive. The intertwined ropes on top are what the people actually pull. 

Elyce and I getting some photos in before the contest. 

I'm not really sure what Rudy is doing in this picture, but it's funny.

Before the contest began there was a little ceremony where the kings of both sides made an entrance. 

The contest began at 4pm and last 30 minutes. The rope was so heavy, it never got off the ground. The goal was to move the rope a total of 5 meters in your perspective direction or else it would be decided by the mayor of Okinawa who served as the judge. I think it may have moved a total of a couple of feet, in our direction. We didn't stick around to see who the winner was. And to be honest, after 30 minutes of intense pulling, all I wanted to do was to get out of there so that we weren't stuck in traffic. Despite the blisters on my hands, I had a great time. The weather, parade, food and company was great! A definite must-do if you're on the island in October.