Giant bamboo snake parades through Japanese village

The 82.8-metre serpent, weighing about two tonnes, was carried by some 500 people along a five-kilometre route in Sekikawa Village, Niigata Prefecture, a procession that lasted nearly three hours.

Its length was chosen to commemorate a water disaster on 28 August 1967. Rebuilt this year for the first time in eight years, the snake drew large crowds, with onlookers cheering as it coiled at the parade’s finale.

Children described it as powerful and frightening, while participants said the weight was heavy but the festive atmosphere uplifting.