Photo= Spectators stroll around the car-free area enjoying "Yoiyoi-yama" night (7:15 p.m., July 15, looking west from Shijo-dori Tomino-koji Higashi-iru, Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto)

The evening of July 15 was "Yoiyoi-yama," or two nights before "Saki-matsuri," or the former festival, of the Gion Festival. Streets in the center of Kyoto City, including Shijo-dori Street and Karasuma-dori Street, temporarily turned into "car-free pedestrian zones," and numerous citizens and tourists strolled along streets viewing "Yama" and "Hoko" floats.

The streets became a pedestrian paradise at 6:00 p.m. "Yoiyoi-yama" fell on a Friday night, so young people in "yukata" and men and women after work hit the town. The highest temperature of the day was 27.4 degrees Celsius at 4:00 p.m., approximately 4 degrees lower than average year, but the night air became very stuffy from the heat of the crowds.

The turnout by 11:00 p.m. on that day was 230,000, according to the Kyoto Prefectural Police announcement. This was 10,000 fewer than last year.