The annual Geminid meteor shower peaked Monday night in the sky over northeastern Japan.
Geminid meteors radiate from near stars Castor and Pollux, the brightest in the constellation Gemini.
They arise out of tiny pieces of comet debris that enter the Earth's upper atmosphere at some 130,000 kph, where they burn up and vaporize, causing a flash of bright light.
The phenomenon could be best viewed in the Hokkaido town of Biei, near the famous Seven Stars tree, a photo of which was featured on a special limited-edition packet of Seven Stars cigarettes in 1976.
About 50 residents and visitors also gathered in the town of Rikubetsu, Hokkaido, at the astronomical observatory named Forest Observatory of the Galaxy.
Geminid is one of the three best known regular meteor showers.