Japanese macaques soak in an open-air hot spring at the Hakodate Tropical Botanical Garden in Hokkaido's Hakodate on Dec. 1, 2024. Visitors can watch the monkeys bathing in the hot water until early May at the yearly attraction that started in 1971. (Kyodo/Junko Ozaki)

Japanese macaques soak in an open-air hot spring at the Hakodate Tropical Botanical Garden in Hokkaido's Hakodate on Dec. 1, 2024. Visitors can watch the monkeys bathing in the hot water until early May at the yearly attraction that started in 1971. (Kyodo/Junko Ozaki)

KYODO PHOTOS OF THE MONTH

December 2024

The annual Sendai Pageant of Starlight illumination event kicks off in Sendai, northeastern Japan, on Dec. 6, 2024, with about 1.6 million visitors expected through Dec. 25. Zelkova trees lining a 450-meter street are lit up with about 450,000 LED lights. (Kyodo/Miyuki Saito)

The annual Sendai Pageant of Starlight illumination event kicks off in Sendai, northeastern Japan, on Dec. 6, 2024, with about 1.6 million visitors expected through Dec. 25. Zelkova trees lining a 450-meter street are lit up with about 450,000 LED lights. (Kyodo/Miyuki Saito)

Fireworks light up the skies above ornate floats in the city of Chichibu, northwest of Tokyo, on Dec. 3, 2024, during the Chichibu Yomatsuri, a night festival that has been running for 300 years and is one of the three most popular float festivals in Japan. (Kyodo/Kotaro Ueda)

Fireworks light up the skies above ornate floats in the city of Chichibu, northwest of Tokyo, on Dec. 3, 2024, during the Chichibu Yomatsuri, a night festival that has been running for 300 years and is one of the three most popular float festivals in Japan. (Kyodo/Kotaro Ueda)

Geiko professional entertainers and maiko apprentices visit dance master Inoue Yachiyo, head of the Inoue school of classical Japanese dance, on Dec. 13, 2024, as part of a year-end tradition called "kotohajime" in preparation for the New Year. (Kyodo/Nana Yumura)

Geiko professional entertainers and maiko apprentices visit dance master Inoue Yachiyo, head of the Inoue school of classical Japanese dance, on Dec. 13, 2024, as part of a year-end tradition called "kotohajime" in preparation for the New Year. (Kyodo/Nana Yumura)

Penguins walk along a snow-covered path at Asahiyama Zoo in Hokkaido's Asahikawa during a "rehearsal" on Dec. 11, 2024, ahead of the start of their daily winter strolls running through mid-March. The "penguin walk" event, a popular attraction among zoo visitors, is aimed at helping to keep the birds fit during winter. (Kyodo/Junko Ozaki)

Penguins walk along a snow-covered path at Asahiyama Zoo in Hokkaido's Asahikawa during a "rehearsal" on Dec. 11, 2024, ahead of the start of their daily winter strolls running through mid-March. The "penguin walk" event, a popular attraction among zoo visitors, is aimed at helping to keep the birds fit during winter. (Kyodo/Junko Ozaki)

Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter shows the Kairos No. 2 rocket of Japanese startup Space One Co. soaring after its liftoff from Space Port Kii, Japan's first private-sector launch pad, in Kushimoto in Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan, on Dec. 18, 2024. The company's attempt to become the first private firm in the country to put a satellite into orbit failed, however, following its unsuccessful bid in March. (Kyodo/Yu Nakajima)

Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter shows the Kairos No. 2 rocket of Japanese startup Space One Co. soaring after its liftoff from Space Port Kii, Japan's first private-sector launch pad, in Kushimoto in Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan, on Dec. 18, 2024. The company's attempt to become the first private firm in the country to put a satellite into orbit failed, however, following its unsuccessful bid in March. (Kyodo/Yu Nakajima)

Giant panda Fuhin is given a star-shaped ice block as a Christmas gift at the Adventure World zoo and amusement park in Shirahama in the western Japan prefecture of Wakayama on Dec. 24, 2024. (Kyodo/Machiko Nasu)

Giant panda Fuhin is given a star-shaped ice block as a Christmas gift at the Adventure World zoo and amusement park in Shirahama in the western Japan prefecture of Wakayama on Dec. 24, 2024. (Kyodo/Machiko Nasu)

A Japan Ground Self-Defense Force member cleans the World Heritage-listed Himeji Castle in Himeji in Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan, on Dec. 19, 2024, ahead of the New Year. (Kyodo/Mayu Iwasaki)

A Japan Ground Self-Defense Force member cleans the World Heritage-listed Himeji Castle in Himeji in Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan, on Dec. 19, 2024, ahead of the New Year. (Kyodo/Mayu Iwasaki)

Photo taken in Osaka on Dec. 17, 2024, shows the four-character idiom "todazuiichi," meaning "best steal," which describes Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani's feat of becoming the first player in Major League Baseball history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season. Sumitomo Life Insurance selected this phrase as the winning entry in its original four-character idiom contest, reflecting the spirit of society in 2024. (Kyodo/Kenzaburo Fukuhara)

Photo taken in Osaka on Dec. 17, 2024, shows the four-character idiom "todazuiichi," meaning "best steal," which describes Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani's feat of becoming the first player in Major League Baseball history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season. Sumitomo Life Insurance selected this phrase as the winning entry in its original four-character idiom contest, reflecting the spirit of society in 2024. (Kyodo/Kenzaburo Fukuhara)

A giant bell is rung by monks at Chion-in temple in Kyoto on Dec. 27, 2024, in a rehearsal for a bell-ringing ceremony on New Year's Eve. (Kyodo/Nana Yumura)

A giant bell is rung by monks at Chion-in temple in Kyoto on Dec. 27, 2024, in a rehearsal for a bell-ringing ceremony on New Year's Eve. (Kyodo/Nana Yumura)

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