Look Twice
What seems like a doll’s house at first glance is really a bus stop. Visitors to the remote Japanese village of Nagoro frequently encounter life-sized stuffed puppets like these. Local artist Tsukimi Ayano, who is now nearly 70 years old, created the first figure as an elaborate scarecrow. But as people moved away from the village or died, Ayano began to replace the dwindling number of inhabitants with puppets that resembled these past villagers. Today the population of Nagoro is nearly 200 – albeit 150 of them are puppets. Creepy or cool? What do you think?