Naha Great Tug-of-War

The Naha Great Tug of War event is held annually on October 10 as a part of the Naha Festival. The main rope is 172 meters long, 1.5 meters in diameter and weighs 27 tons. Tens of thousands of people divided into east and west teams tug on thin ropes that branch out of the main rope. This Naha event was first held in 1935 and was discontinued for a while, but it resumed since 1969 as a traditional event. The tug-of-war is held on Route 58 where traffic is closed off during the big event. Attracting roughly 200,000 people, the annual tug-of-war represents the power and energy of the Okinawans and is the pride of Naha City..