Hundreds of people participate the Daija Festival

Hundreds of people in Gunma Prefecture, central Japan, have paraded with a special giant snake-shaped portable shrine for the first time in 12 years to mark the Year of the Snake, the Oriental zodiac symbol for 2025.

The Daija Festival got underway at the Oigami Onsen hot spring resort in the city of Numata on Friday. Daija means giant snake in Japanese. The annual event usually features a 30-meter-long portable shrine that is carried through the streets. But this year, the shrine measures more than 108 meters in celebration of the Year of the Snake.