Shintoist priests arrive to hold a ritual in preparation for the New Year at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo, Japan, 31 December 2021. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, about three million people used to visit the Meiji Shrine during the first three days of the new year. The number of visitors went down more than 75 percent during the first three days of 2021. (Photo by Kimimasa Mayama/EPA/EFE)





Revellers celebrate the New Year at Shibuya, although the countdown event was cancelled due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Tokyo, Japan on December 31, 2021. (Photo by Androniki Christodoulou/Reuters)





A cosplayer dressed as a “remote worker” with “corporate slave” written on his glasses poses for a photo on New Year's Eve at Comiket, the largest comic market that had been postponed for two years because of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Tokyo, Japan December 31, 2021. (Photo by Androniki Christodoulou/Reuters)





Reveller wearing a costume celebrates the New Year at Shibuya, although the countdown event was cancelled due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Tokyo, Japan on December 31, 2021. (Photo by Androniki Christodoulou/Reuters)





People gather by the memorial statue celebrating the Tokyo-Hakone collegiate Ekiden long-distance road relay run at the finish area before the arrival of runners in Hakone, Kanagawa prefecture on January 2, 2022. (Photo by Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP Photo)





Mountain priests (Yamabushi) climb stone steps after pray front of the waterfall during a Fudo honor festival on January 03, 2022 in Tambasasayama, Japan. The Yamabushi chant and pray as worshipers walk barefoot on the burnt logs and wish for good health and happiness in the new year. Due to the coronavirus pandemic the event was canceled last year. (Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images)





People visit Kanda Myojin Shrine to offer New Year prayers in Tokyo on January 4, 2022, on the first business day of the year. (Photo by Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP Photo)





People clad in traditional attire play “kemari”, a football game played by nobles in Japan's Heian period, at Shimogamo shrine in Kyoto on January 4, 2022. (Photo by Kyodo News via Getty Images)





A notice board for wearing protective masks and standing in a row is seen near visitors in queue to offer prayers on the first business day of the year at Kanda Myojin shrine on the first business day of the year Tuesday, January 4, 2022, in Tokyo. Japan celebrated the start of 2022, the Year of the Tiger in the Chinese zodiac. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)





A Shinto priest wearing a protective face mask presides a ceremony as visitors offer prayers on the first business day of the New Year at the Kanda Myojin shrine, frequented by worshippers seeking good fortune and prosperous business, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Tokyo, Japan, January 4, 2022. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)





Journalists and bystanders look at a tuna which was bought jointly by Michelin-starred sushi restaurant operator Onodera Group and wholesaler Yamayuki for 16.9 million yen (145,290 USD) at the Toyosu fish market's New Year auction, at a restaurant in Tokyo on January 5, 2022. (Photo by Philip Fong/AFP Photo)





Students wearing protective masks, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, show off their writings in an annual New Year calligraphy contest, after last year's was cancelled due to the pandemic, in Tokyo, Japan, January 5, 2022. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)





A wholesaler stand in front of the lined up frozen tuna during the New Year's auction at Toyosu fish market in Tokyo, Japan on January 5 2022. (Photo by Philip Fong/AFP Photo)





Members of the Edo Firemen Preservation Association perform Japanese traditional firefighting techniques during the New Year's fire brigades exercise in Tokyo on January 6, 2022. (Photo by Issei Kato/Reuters)





Police officers ride their bicycles as snow falls in Tokyo on January 6, 2022. (Photo by Behrouz Mehri/AFP Photo)





A shrine maiden walks past the main shrine while a worker clears the steps as the snow comes down Thursday, January 6, 2022, in Tokyo. (Photo by Kiichiro Sato/AP Photo)





People wearing face masks cross a street in Hiroshima, western Japan Thursday, January 6, 2022. Japan approved new restrictions on Friday to curb a sharp rise in coronavirus cases in the three most affected southwestern regions of Okinawa, Yamaguchi and Hiroshima. (Photo by Kyodo News via AP Photo)





Maikos and geikos share a laugh before the new year's ceremony to mark the start of business at the Yasaka Kurabu on January 7, 2022 in Kyoto, Japan. (Photo by The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images)





The Katsube Fire Festival is held at Katsube Shrine in Moriyama in Japan's Shiga Prefecture on January 8, 2022, to pray for people's health. (Photo by Kyodo News via Getty Images)