With just one month remaining in 2024, a Buddhist temple near Tokyo is preparing a gigantic straw rope decoration for the New Year.

At Naritasan Shinsho-ji temple in Chiba Prefecture, about 10 people worked on tying bundles of straw about 1.5 meters long to a wooden core on Sunday.

Officials at the temple and people living in the area have been working on the rope decoration called shimenawa since early November.

The process will continue until the end of this month.
When eventually completed, the rope, shaped like ears of rice, will be 6.6 meters long and weigh as much as 200 kilograms.

The straw rope will decorate the main hall starting on December 25.

Ono Kiyoaki, who works at the temple, said he is hoping for a good year without natural disasters, because there have been too many this year. He wished for a good year for everyone, including those visiting the temple.

Naritasan Shinsho-ji temple is visited by about 3 million people on the first three days of every January.