SLOW LORIS 38: Ground Plaques & Manholes Mania

Why are manholes circular in shape? Do you know why?

Bet it did not occur to you to ask these questions :)) Among 3 Wiki reasons ;

- Round manholes are harder to fall through its circular opening.

- Easier to be rolled than compared with other shapes.

- Round shapes are more difficult to be raised by suction, hence can be made lighter.

The Japanese have manholes that tell something about the place or town.

These shots captured some of the essence.

Squid manhole

Hakodate, Hokkaido : Squids or "ika" featured heavily inHakodate cuisine. It's their signature item. Nearly all restaurants at its morning market had squid on their menu. We had Ikameshi or stuffed squid as an add-on to our delicious ramen :)))

Ikameshi with Hakodate Ramen

The Ikameshi was something new but the taste was rather mild. The squid was overcooked perhaps and a tad chewy. The ramen on the other hand was excellent.

Japanese Alpine Range

Toyama, Western Japan. It is the hop-off town to the Japaneses Alps. We did the Ice Wall circuit on the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route. Does this manhole resembled the mountain range below???

The only to compare height of ice wall

Walk through the valley of .....

Roof of Japan, stark, steep and beautiful mountain range. Was on the ice wall and it began to snow. The vertical ice wall was about 10 m high in May 2010. It was cold then.

Don't believe, look at these guys on the right.~~~~~>>>>>>>>>

Embedded caption

Osaka, Kansai : Back to civilization. This one was on the underground shopping of Namba in Osaka. It was a peaceful walk here. On street level, you would be bombarded with neon lights and mechanized signages. Lookout for giant crab and octopus on the wall!

Welcoming with all 8 tentacles at Osaka Namba

The claws could move1 at Osaka

Beware monster squid at an octopus balls or takoyaki outlet. A must try in Japan.

The claws of this mechanized decapod crustacean moved back and forth, beckoning visitors to enter.

Floor plaque in Furano

Furano, Hokkaido : Known for its picturesque rural landscape. Not too sure what this manhole was trying to say. Maybe just a happy tourist letting out yahoos after being overwhelmed by the beauty of the place.

Of course grapes have to be included

Furano grapes destined for grape juice factory & winery near Furano town.

Kushiro manhole

Our hosts waving us on

MOO Seafood Reataurant

Kushiro, Eastern Hokkaido. No prize for guessing, fishing, a major industry here. Locals and tourists came out in full force at night to enjoy seafood at the MOO Fisherman's Wharf. Happy customers equal happy vendors :)))

Salmon

Different pose

There are metallic fish embedded on the streets of Kushiro! Different pose too.

Pavement tile in Kushiro

These next three plaques were found along the Kushiro Fisherman's Wharf MOO.

Kushiro public transport then

It was within the vicinity of Nusamai Bridge.

No idea what was written on it

Scenes of Japanese life and history?

Its between Hosooka and Toya

Kushiro to Abashiri by rail

No. 1 on the left map was our station stop. The exact station signage.

Marshland owls

This manhole was found near Hosooka Viewpoint in the Kushiro Marshland. Local natives were owls and the Japanese Cranes but we did not see any. Probably we were too noisy and scared them away.

Japanese Crane bottom left, captured from moving train

On the plus side, I did capture an image of a Japanese crane in flight while travelling on the train. Only realized that when I was looking through the photos in the computer.