Emerging from the head of the world's tallest bronze Buddha and climbing down to its right ear, two specialist cleaners gave the imposing Japanese statue an annual spruce up Monday to help it look its gleaming best.

Using high-pressure water guns, the pair blasted dust and bird droppings off the Ushiku Daibutsu monument, which soars skyward over Ushiku, Ibaraki Prefecture.

The 120-meter structure is spruced up once a year by the two men, who have been entrusted with the job for nearly a quarter of a century.