Priests prepare 'Yamagasa' float for Fukuoka G-7 meeting

Priests prepare 'Yamagasa' float for Fukuoka G-7 meeting

FUKUOKA, Japan - Shinto priests on June 26 bless a special ''Yamagasa'' float built for next month's meeting of top finance officials from the Group of Seven (G-7) nations in Fukuoka. The blessing of the 12-meter-tall float, which features figures from the history of Fukuoka Prefecture, was conducted at the Fukuoka City Museum, where the G-7 meeting will take place July 8, ahead of the Group of Eight (G-8) summit in Okinawa Prefecture.

'Godzilla head' shown in Tokyo's Shinjuku district

'Godzilla head' shown in Tokyo's Shinjuku district

A 12-meter-tall "Godzilla head" appears on the eighth-floor outdoor terrace of the Shinjuku Toho Building in the major entertainment area of Kabukicho in Tokyo's Shinjuku district on April 9, 2015, ahead of its official "unveiling" on April 17. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Giant skewer-wielding figure in Osaka

Giant skewer-wielding figure in Osaka

Katsuya Ueyama (2nd from L), president of Ichimonkai, the operator of the Kushikatsu Daruma restaurant chain, attends a ceremony in Osaka's Dotombori district on Nov. 25, 2020, in which a 12-meter-tall deep-fried skewer-wielding figure representing the restaurant chain is lit up after being newly installed on the roof of the company's office building.

Giant skewer-wielding figure in Osaka

Giant skewer-wielding figure in Osaka

Photo taken Nov. 25, 2020, shows a 12-meter-tall deep-fried skewer-wielding figure representing the Kushikatsu Daruma restaurant chain, newly installed on the roof of the operator Ichimonkai's office building in Osaka's Dotombori entertainment district.

Priests prepare 'Yamagasa' float for Fukuoka G-7 meeting

Priests prepare 'Yamagasa' float for Fukuoka G-7 meeting

FUKUOKA, Japan - Shinto priests on June 26 bless a special ''Yamagasa'' float built for next month's meeting of top finance officials from the Group of Seven (G-7) nations in Fukuoka. The blessing of the 12-meter-tall float, which features figures from the history of Fukuoka Prefecture, was conducted at the Fukuoka City Museum, where the G-7 meeting will take place July 8, ahead of the Group of Eight (G-8) summit in Okinawa Prefecture.