SENDAI--A two-day special event featuring six major summer festivals in the disaster-ravaged Tohoku region attracted about 366,000 visitors, overwhelming organizers who had expected a turnout of about 100,000.
SENDAI--A two-day special event featuring six major summer festivals in the disaster-ravaged Tohoku region attracted about 366,000 visitors, overwhelming organizers who had expected a turnout of about 100,000.
The Tohoku Rokkon Festival, which ended July 17, was organized to commemorate victims of the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake and pray for reconstruction of the region.
A combined parade from some of the festivals, including the Aomori Nebuta Festival, was canceled on July 16 after large crowds flocked to Jozenji-dori street, the parade venue. A downsized parade was held on July 17.
An estimated 133,000 visitors attended the festival on July 16.
Tourists came from Kanto and other regions, and 90 busloads of earthquake survivors were invited from disaster-hit cities, such as Ishinomaki and Kesennuma, both in Miyagi Prefecture.
On July 17, when the temperature hit 33.5 degrees, 49 visitors complained of heatstroke and other health-related problems, with 24 taken to the hospital, according to the Sendai Fire Department.