Large crowds have enjoyed watching giant decorated floats parading along a street adorned with cherry blossoms in full bloom in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan.

The Inuyama Festival took place in the city of Inuyama over the weekend. Its main attraction is 13 magnificent floats with mechanized puppet dolls that entertain spectators.

The float event in the festival is recognized on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

The 8-meter-high floats paraded through the street accompanied with music played by traditional Japanese flutes and drums.

One of them was a doll depicting Ebisu, a Japanese god of fisheries which symbolizes prosperity and good fortune.

After arriving at the designated national treasure of Inuyama Castle, float-pullers changed direction by lifting the front wheels to rotate the floats 180 degrees. Their swiveling performance drew applause from the crowd.

A local fourth-grader said she was amazed to see so many people pushing the floats. She also said she wondered how the puppet dolls were moved.

Ishida Yoshihiro, the head of a group aiming to preserve the festival, said he was happy to see so many people enjoying the warm weather with cherry blossoms blooming. He added he and his members were energized by their enthusiasm.