Feb. 4, 2012

Evacuation management employees at the Isetan department store in Shinjuku Ward shout instructions Friday during an earthquake drill as part of a Tokyo-wide alert exercise led by the metropolitan government that involved about 10,000 people.

KYODO PHOTO

Feb. 4, 2012

Monkeys huddle for warmth Friday at Takasakiyama Natural Zoo in the city of Oita as Kyushu experienced record low temperatures. In the town of Kusu, Oita Prefecture, the mercury hit minus 14.7 degrees.

KYODO PHOTO

Feb. 2, 2012

A man clears snow from the roof of a shopping arcade in Tokamachi, Niigata Prefecture, on Wednesday. A cold front has dumped heavy snow on extensive parts of Japan, killing at least 51 this winter.

KYODO PHOTO

Feb. 2, 2012

Residents of the Miyagi Prefecture communities of Sendai, Natori and Watari, which were devastated by the March 11 quake and tsunami, file income tax returns at a tax office extension center Wednesday in Sendai. The tax offices in the three municipalities have been more crowded than usual this year because people whose homes were damaged are claiming deductions.

KYODO PHOTO

Feb. 2, 2012

"Fukumusume" lucky girls toss beans Wednesday during a "setsubun" event at the top of Tsutenkaku Tower in Naniwa Ward, Osaka. Setsubun, which literally means "seasonal separation," is usually meant to celebrate the arrival of spring on Feb. 3 by throwing beans to drive evil spirits away. The annual event on the tower is usually held a few days early.

KYODO PHOTO

Feb. 1, 2012

Votive messages, made of scallop shells and paper, express wishes for full resumption of the Sanriku Railway, in the city of Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on Tuesday. Services have been only partially resumed since the quake and tsunami on March 11.

KYODO PHOTO

Jan. 31, 2012

Men clad in thongs try to grab a good-luck charm during the annual Somin Festival early Monday in Okushu, Iwate Prefecture. In 2008, the festival stirred controversy when it issued an ad featuring a hairy, nearly naked man.

KYODO

Jan. 31, 2012

Fireboats hold a drill Monday in Tokyo Bay in preparation for the Feb. 12 opening of the 2.6-km Tokyo Gate Bridge, which connects reclaimed land with the Wakasu district in Koto Ward. Some 90 firefighters and rescue workers took part.

KYODO

Jan. 30, 2012

The sun gleams as it sets on Mount Fuji on Sunday as seen from Nippori Fujimizaka in Arakawa Ward, Tokyo. This event, known as "Diamond Fuji," only happens twice a year. Dozens of areas in Tokyo are named Fujimizaka (hill for viewing Mount Fuji), but this is the only one where the volcano can still be seen from the ground.

KYODO PHOTO

Jan. 29, 2012

Fireworks and flames from Mount Wakakusa light up the night sky Saturday over Nara during "Wakakusayama yaki," an annual event dating back to the Edo Period where visitors pray for peace and for the souls of the dead. This year's event attracted about 180,000 people.

KYODO

Jan. 28, 2012

Reporter Natsumi Hotta of Weathernews Inc. shows off the Pollen Robo, which gauges air pollen concentrations and displays the levels with five-color orbs, Friday in the city of Chiba. It also sends data to the weather service.

YOSHIAKI MIURA

Jan. 27, 2012

Firefighters shoot jets of water into the air during a fire drill Thursday at Horyuji Temple in the town of Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture. The drill started after part of the temple, now a UNESCO World Heritage site, was gutted by a fire in 1949.

KYODO

Jan. 27, 2012

An "anko" monkfish colored a rare golden yellow instead of the species' usual dark color is displayed Tuesday by fishery official Mitsunori Miyamoto in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, a port widely known for its fugu haul.

KYODO

Jan. 26, 2012

Ice cream maker Shinsaku Katahira from Date, Fukushima Prefecture, gets a trophy Tuesday for his coffee ice cream at the 33th International Exhibition for the Artisan Production of Gelato, Pastry, Confectionery and Bakery in Rimimi, Italy. He is still in business, but Date has largely been evacuated.

AP

Jan. 25, 2012

Firefighters perform a drill Tuesday at Okunitama Shrine in the Tokyo suburb of Fuchu ahead of cultural asset fire prevention day on Jan. 26. About 100 people, including Shinto priests and local volunteer fire brigade members, took part in the drill based on the premise that a quake had hit and the shrine and its visitors needed saving.

KYODO PHOTO

Jan. 23, 2012

A woman buys a Daruma doll at an outdoor stall Saturday during the city of Futaba's Daruma Ichi festival, which is being held this year in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture. Futaba lies in the 20-km hot zone around the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, and a group of former residents organized the festival to preserve its 300-year history and give evacuees an occasion to get together.

KYODO PHOTO

Jan. 23, 2012

A dance troupe performs in Beijing on Sunday. Asian communities around the world kicked off celebrations over the weekend for the start of the new lunar year on Monday, with families congregating together to usher in the year of the dragon.

KYODO PHOTO

Jan. 23, 2012

Lights on the famed "gassho-zukuri" thatched-roof houses shine in the village of Shirakawa in Gifu Prefecture on Saturday. The houses, which are on UNESCO's World Heritage list, will be lit from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weekends until Feb. 18.

KYODO PHOTO

Jan. 22, 2012

Smoke rises from a fire in a restaurant area near JR Oji Station in Kita Ward, Tokyo, on Saturday morning. The fire, which may have been caused by an electric heater, injured five people and disrupted railway services on the Keihin-Tohoku, Utsunomiya and Takasaki lines for up to five hours, affecting about 224,000 passengers.

KYODO

Jan. 20, 2012

Displaced by the March 11 disasters, temporary housing residents exercise Wednesday at a community center in Yamamoto, Miyagi Prefecture. Besides fitness, the weekly, two-hour workout is intended to foster a sense of community.

KYODO

Jan. 20, 2012

A child cries as a traditional drummer in a "namahage" (demon) costume performs on a street in Tokyo on Sunday. Namahage are part of a traditional event in Akita Prefecture in which men dressed as demons visit homes to frighten kids, drive away evil spirits and bring good luck to residents.

AP

Jan. 19, 2012

Daffodils are in full bloom at Kasai Rinkai Park in Edogawa Ward, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Despite the winter chill, visitors to the park can enjoy 2,800 sq. meters of daffodils planted by park employees and local volunteers. The flowers are expected to be in bloom until around mid-February.

SATOKO KAWASAKI PHOTO

Jan. 18, 2012

The 34-meter-tall Eastern Tower of Nara's eighth-century Yakushiji Temple, a designated national treasure, has part of its moveable temporary enclosure up Tuesday. The pagoda, which will be covered by mid-February, will undergo extensive repairs out of public view until 2018.

KYODO PHOTO

Jan. 16, 2012

Dressed in colorful kimono, young women who celebrated adulthood at last week's Coming of Age festival participate in the annual "toshiya" archery contest held at Sanjusangendo Temple in Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, on Sunday. About 2,000 young adults participated in the traditional contest, in which arrows are fired at targets 60 meters away.

KYODO PHOTO

Jan. 16, 2012

Jissho Hasegawa, a monk at the Daichiin Temple in Chita, Aichi Prefecture, writes the characters "fuku" (luck) and "ju" (longevity) Saturday on wooden containers for beans that will be thrown during the Setsubun festival on Feb. 3 to celebrate the beginning of spring. Hasegawa says that while writing the characters, he remembers the victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami and prays for the reconstruction of the devastated areas.

KYODO PHOTO

Jan. 13, 2012

Chef Hakuin Tatami gets ready to slice up a carp during the annual New Year's ritual "manaita biraki" (first use of the cutting board) Thursday at Houonji Temple in Taito Ward, Tokyo.

SATOKO KAWASAKI

Jan. 13, 2012

Bank employees count offerings of money made to Imamiya Ebisu Shrine in Osaka, known for its god of commerce, on Thursday, the day after the three-day Toka Ebisu festival ended. Although some 940,000 people visited the shrine during the festival, it was the lowest turnout in a decade because of the sluggish economy, the shrine said. Even so, the offerings may amount to the usual ¥45 million.

KYODO

Jan. 13, 2012

Touching its 80-inch screen with a pen, a Sharp Corp. employee demonstrates how to use the company's Big Pad at a press unveiling in Tokyo Tuesday. The new interactive electronic displays, which use giant glass panels normally installed in flat-screen TVs, take the place of conventional white boards in offices and schools.

AP

Jan. 12, 2012

Lu Xiao Jing, an employee of nail jewelry maker Yuki Co., shows off "bejeweled nails" during International Jewelry Tokyo at Tokyo Big Sight in Koto Ward on Wednesday. The six nails in this photograph cost a combined ¥1,745,000.

SATOKO KAWASAKI PHOTO