Women dressed in kimonos pose for a selfie photograph at a deserted torii path Fushimi Inari Taish shrine on January 18, 2021 in Kyoto, Japan. Kyoto, along with a Osaka and several other prefectures, was brought under a state of emergency last week by the Japanese government as they grapple to contain the third, and most virulent, wave of Covd-19 coronavirus to hit the country. (Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images)

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)

Hideki Tokoro, president of whaling company Kyodo Senpaku, boards Japan's new whaling mothership, the Kangei Maru, following the ship's launch ceremony at a port in Shimonoseki city, Yamaguchi prefecture on May 21, 2024. The nearly 9,300-tonne ship set sail on its maiden hunting voyage on May 21, heralding a new era for the controversial practice defended by the government as an integral part of national culture. (Photo by Yuichi Yamazaki/AFP Photo)

Kimono-clad Japanese young women stand in a train after attending a Coming of Age Day ceremony at Yokohama Arena, in Yokohama, Japan, 13 January 2025. Thousands of participants attended the ceremony of the Coming of Age Day in Yokohama, the day celebrating all those who reached 20 years of age, which is considered adulthood in Japan. (Photo by Franck Robichon/EPA/EFE)

British actress Millie Bobby Brown and Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen break the sake barrel during the opening ceremony for Osaka Comic Con 2023 at the Intex Osaka on May 5, 2023 in Osaka, Japan. (Photo by Jun Sato/WireImage)

Tourists take photographs as a wild sika deer eats a bag on June 6, 2019 in Nara, Japan. Nara's free-roaming deer have become a huge attraction for tourists. However, an autopsy on a deer that was recently found dead near one of the city's famous temples discovered 3.2kg of plastic in its stomach and caused concern at the effect of tourism as Japan struggles to cope with a huge increase in domestic and international tourists. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

Festival goer with phallus logo t-shirt during the Kanamara Matsuri Steel Phallus Festival at Kawasaki, Japan on April 2, 2017. The Kanamara Matsuri or Festival of the Steel Phallus is held on the first Sunday of April at the Kanayama shrine. The shrine celebrates a legend of a steel pen*s and was frequented by prostitutes who wished to pray for protection from sexually transmitted diseases. Visitors now wish for easy delivery, marriage and matrimonial harmony. Because of the large steel phallus the unusual festival has become a tourist attraction attracting many overseas visitors and is used to raise money for HIV charities. Phallus shaped candy, carved vegetables, decorations, and a big parade are all part of the festival. (Photo by DELETREE/SIPA Press/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

These timeless postcards offer an eye-opening glimpse into life in Japan in the early 20th century. Taken from hand-colored photographs, the postcards showcase the still beauty of the country, depicting a nation on the cusp of modernization. The images feature solemn fishermen, bustling streets, temples and shrines: a country yet to be influenced by Western culture. The tinting effect brings out the rich colors of the natural surroundings, with trees, flowers and cherry blossoms jumping from the original black-and-white images. Here: Toyokuni Shrine Nakanoshima, Osaka, Japan. (Photo by New York Public Library/Caters News)