A Star Wars fan in an R2-D2 costume poses for a photo outside the venue during a fan convention called the Star Wars Celebration in Chiba, near Tokyo, Friday, April 18, 2025. (Photo by Hiro Komae/AP Photo)

Pedestrians walk past an art installation by French street artist James Colomina called the “The Briefcase” (bottom) at Shibuya Crossing in the Shibuya district of central Tokyo on May 20, 2025. The display shows a red briefcase – a symbol of work and conformity – with arms, legs and a tie poking out on the ground to illustrate a “salaryman” who has lost his identity, swallowed by his daily routine. (Photo by Richard A. Brooks/AFP Photo)

Women wearing braided straw hats dance as the Owara Kaze-no-Bon dance festival begins on September 1, 2025 in Toyama, Japan. The festival, believed to have more than 300 years history, continues till September 3. (Photo by The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images)

People walk through Ginza’s shopping district in Tokyo, Japan, 15 December 2025. Japan’s economic focus is on the upcoming Bank of Japan (BOJ) meeting where the central bank is expected to raise its policy rate to combat inflation. The BOJ signaled a rate hike bar is cleared with the wage momentum still intact. (Photo by Franck Robichon/EPA)

High waves batter a breakwater at a port at Kihou town in Mie prefecture, central Japan on October 6, 2014. Strong typhoon Phanfone slammed into Japan, packing gusts and huge waves that have already swept three US military officials out to sea, as it made a beeline for Tokyo. (Photo by AFP Photo/Jiji Press)

Creators of Mini Cooper continue on with their innovative way of promoting their product. First, it was the huge cardboard boxes, which looked like packaging for full sized Mini Coopers, left all over Amsterdam. Now they’ve hired a famous artist Alexa Meade, who is known for making 3-D objects look as if they are 2-D paintings. For this project, Alexa had to fly to Japan, where she turned a whole Mini Cooper into a “drawing”. Even if you know that what you’re seeing on the picture are 3-D objects, your brain refuses to accept this, making you think that Alexa is standing near a sloppy picture of a Mini Cooper.

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.