A common feature of festivals are processions or parades known as "gyōretsu". During public processions, the kami travel in portable shrines known as "mikoshi". The processions for "matsuri" can be raucous, with many of the participants being drunk; Breen and Teeuwen characterised them as having a "carnivalesque atmosphere". They are often understood as having a regenerative effect on both the participants and the community. In various cases the mikoshi undergo "hamaori" ("going down to the beach"), a process by which they are carried to the sea shore and sometimes into the sea, either by bearers or a boat. For instance, in the Okunchi festival held in the southwestern city of Nagasaki, the kami of the Suwa Shrine are paraded down to Ohato, where they are placed in a shrine there for several days before being paraded back to Suwa. These sort of celebrations are often organized largely by members of the local community rather than by the priests themselves.