Zodiac Horse Powdered with Snow in Gunma Pref., Japan, Straw Art Installation Given Wintery Covering

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:49 JST, December 5, 2025

TAKASAKI — A straw horse is covered in snow at the Michi-no-Eki roadside rest area Takumi-no-Sato in Minakami, Gunma Prefecture, as the area transforms into a glistening snowscape. Created by local residents under the supervision of artist Yuma Matsumoto, the 4-meter-high, 5.5-meter-long installation is a tribute to the upcoming zodiac year and will be displayed until late January. The heavy snowfall was swept in by a winter pressure pattern bringing a strong cold air mass to the prefecture’s northern mountains from Wednesday night to Thursday.