Santa has created a splash by swimming through a tank full of tropical fish at a Tokyo aquarium - continuing a more than 20-year-old tradition.
Dressed in a Santa Claus costume, mask and flippers, a diver waved through a curtain of tropical fish while socially distanced spectators watched from behind glass.
The diver held a Christmas wreath aloft as banana fish and a stingray swam by unperturbed at the Sunshine Aquarium in Japan's capital city.
The deep-diving Santa then used a bazooka-shaped feeder to shoot out pellets for them to feast on.
Started in 1999, the Christmas show has taken place almost every year since.
This year, as daily infection rates creep higher across Japan, the aquarium has hosted the event on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays only, and placed strict limits on visitor numbers.
"To be honest, I thought how can you swim in that outfit?" Keiichi Matsumura, visiting with his wife and four-year-old son, told Reuters after seeing the show, which will continue until Christmas Day.
For Tokyo resident Ayami Kobayashi, the entertainment was all the more welcome in a year overshadowed by a pandemic.
"Seeing the fish made me relax. I know it's difficult to hold events like these because of the coronavirus situation, but I'm grateful they still held the event," she said.
