Postal workers in a western Japanese city delivered New Year's greeting cards in a neighborhood near a famous temple on Tuesday, one day before crowds jam the area.

It is a time-honored tradition for people across Japan to visit temples or shrines during the New Year period to pray for good luck and happiness.

Saijo Inari Temple in Okayama draws about 600,000 such visitors on the first three days of January each year. Crowds tend to be particularly large on New Year's Day.

Local postal workers started a custom 46 years ago to deliver greeting cards to some 120 shops and homes along an approach to the temple on December 31. The aim was to avoid the New Year crowds.

Roughly 1,500 cards were delivered on New Year's Eve of 2024, down around 30 percent from last year. The drop is seen due to increased use of social media and higher postal fees.

Shop owners and staff in the neighborhood were busy preparing to welcome temple worshippers when they received cards.

A souvenir shop worker in her 80s said she feels the New Year has come one day earlier. She said she is glad as the arrival of the cards shows their senders are in good health.

A man in his 60s who co-owns another souvenir shop said he customarily reads cards and listens to a temple bell and that its tolls herald the advent of the New Year before a hectic day for business. He said he looks forward to getting cards every year.