Macaques huddle together for warmth at a hot spring in Nagano, Japan in the last decade of December 2023. Known as snow monkeys, the animals soak in the 40°C water every day during cold weather, spending their bathtime grooming, snoozing and playing on visitors’ camera tripods. (Photo by David Lazar/Animal News Agency)

Workers repair a damaged road, in the aftermath of an earthquake, near Anamizu, Japan on January 3, 202. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

An AI Gamer “Q56” robot plays a video game during a demonstration at the Bandai Namco Holdings Inc. booth at the Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies in Chiba, Japan on October 16, 2019. (Photo by Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg)

In this Tuesday, April 16, 2019, file photo, a visitor posing for a photo walks though azalea blossoms at Nezu Shrine during a day of mild spring weather in Tokyo. Nezu Shrine is one of the oldest shrines in Tokyo. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo/File)

Student of Meiji University Yuki Hou licks a screen of Taste the TV (TTTV), a prototype lickable TV screen that can imitate the flavours of various foods, during its demonstration at the university in Tokyo, Japan, December 22, 2021. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

A man holding a pet dog walks past blooming cherry blossoms along the Meguro river in Tokyo, Japan, March 27, 2022. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

People view live owls at, Owl's Forest which is located on the bottom floor of a building along a bustling street in the Harajuku area on Friday November 04, 2016 in Tokyo, Japan. Visitors can pet owls at the business. It is located next to one of Tokyo's many cat cafes. (Photo by Matt McClain/The Washington Post)

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.