January 2, 2024
TOKYO – A giant statue of a dragon, the zodiac sign of 2024, spews white vapor from its mouth at Tatsumizu Shrine in Tsu, Mie Prefecture, on Friday. The local residents create statues of the new year’s Chinese zodiac annually, and this year, 30 people worked for about 1½ months on the dragon, standing 3 meters tall and 4 meters long, and weighs 150 kilograms.
The statue will be displayed at the shrine through the end of March.