At the end of rice harvesting season, the folks of the Kagawa and Niigata Prefectures in Japan hold a straw festival to celebrate the abundance of the harvest. Dried straws cover wooden frames to form larger-than-life sculptures from animals like sharks and gorillas to vessels such as ships and tanks. The family-friendly event invites visitors of all ages to engage, interact, and play on the enormous structures.

Fireplace for children, Trondheim, Norway, by Haugen/Zohar. The children of Trondheim come to sit around the fire and tell stories in this whimsical cone hut, made with materials recycled from a construction site. (Photo by Jason Havneraas/The Guardian)

Russian police detain a protester at a demonstration against President Vladimir Putin in St.Petersburg, Russia, Saturday, May 5, 2018. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)

Ezra Miller attends the 2019 Met Gala celebrating “Camp: Notes on Fashion” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 06, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Andrew Kelly/Reuters)

A drone view shows vehicles in the area affected by the floods, in Encantado, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, on May 3, 2024. (Photo by Diego Vara/Reuters)

High angle view of a young woman reading in a bathtub, turning page, enjoying time with herself. Candles and red wine. Valentines day concept, International womans day. (Photo by Vuk Saric/Getty Images)

Members of Brighton Swimming Club brave the early morning temperature to take a dip in the sea east of the pier on January 5, 2022. The club, founded in 1860, is the oldest in England. (Photo by Simon Dack/Alamy Live News)

American rapper Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini, known professionally as Doja Cat in the second decade of September 2023 terrifies MTA riders with this red getup. (Photo by dojacat/Instagram)