Strawng Horse Brings in Tourists to City in Gunma Pref.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:03 JST, December 3, 2025

A giant straw horse — next year’s Chinese zodiac animal — is attracting tourists at Takuminosato, a roadside rest station in Minakami, Gunma Prefecture. The straw has just been replaced, allowing visitors to enjoy the horse’s lively expression.

The 4-meter-tall and 6-meter-long artwork depicts Kanta, a horse that pulled tourist carriages at Takuminosato before dying in 2021. An artist from the prefecture, Yuma Matsumoto, created it.

“I came to see it because I was born in the Year of the Horse,” said a 59-year-old woman visiting with her family from Numata in the prefecture.