Drawings for New Year's Cards

Hope you all are having a happy new year!  I just heard the sounds of a lot of fireworks and noticed that it's already 2013! I've been watching Japanese TV for about day and I am missing Japan bringing in the New year so badly now X(

By the way, I've been drawing pictures for the New Year from the Chinese zodiac since 2008. For this year's picture, I added three things that represent Japan when I drew the snake. Can you tell what they are? :D
*answers are at the end of this entry.

Some old pictures:

2008

2009

2010

2012

The answers for question above are:

1. Mt. Fuji

2. the red sun (the national flag)

3. the map of Japan (the snake's body!)