17:13 JST, July 5, 2024
A crowd walks under colorful decorations more than 10 meters high on Friday during the Tanabata summer festival in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture.
The Shonan Hiratsuka Tanabata Festival is one of the largest Tanabata star festivals in Japan, with around 100 beautiful streamers hanging along the shopping street outside the north exit of JR Hiratsuka Station. For the 72nd year, Shibusawa Eiichi, whose portrait appears on the new ¥10,000 note, and the Paris Olympics and Paralympics are also featured on the decorations.
The festival will last until Sunday and will feature impressive evening lighting. More than a million visitors are expected.
