Manhole covers

Subtitle: A trip to Japan as depicted by feet and manhole covers.

I, my hubby, and my eldest younger brother (whom I'd not seen in the flesh for over a decade) met up in Japan recently. My brother didn't want to come back to Aotearoa and I (at the time) had no plans to go to Australia, where he now lives, so we decided to meet halfway … or, rather, quite a long way away in a perpendicular tangent.

We hit up Ōsaka (big and fun), Kyōto (just the Nintendo Museum), Kanazawa (beautiful), Hiroshima (Miyajima!), Matsuyama (so calm), and Tōkyō (best transport ever). Along the way, I found these manhole covers. I took photos of them. Enjoy?

First, Ōsaka Expo 2025. I didn't go. It was too hot. The humidity when we were there, early Autumn, made it hard to breathe. We'd take a step outside of our accommodation and instantly turn into walking rivers. The thought of sweating out in the open, exposed area waiting in interminable queues may excite some people but not me.

Then, Kyōto at the Nintendo Museum. I didn't go in bare feet because entrance to the museum uses a lottery system. I was lucky enough to get tickets for us three on a day we planned to be in Kansai (the area where Ōsaka and Kyōto are) and I didn't want to risk ejection. I had games to play, history to look at, and hanafuda cards to paint!

Then, Hiroshima. There were koi on the pavement near my hotel. What can I say, they were cute. Hiroshima isn't a terribly exciting city, though I'd certainly be happy to live there. It has things going on but it's much quieter than Ōsaka or Tōkyo. It felt like Wellington in that regard.

Of course, we went to Miyajima as well. There were plenty of other cute things there, too, but that's for another post.

Finally, Matsuyama. Located in a shōtengai (covered shopping street) with a picture of Masaoka Shiki, a poet from the area. Apparently, there were some other Pokémon-themed manhole covers here, too, but the humidity demanded we stay under the shōtengai. Happily, our hotel was located directly inside it, so we didn't have far to go — except to Dōgo Onsen!

Side note

I never realised how weirdly-shaped my feet have gotten since I gained weight and started going barefoot. Monkey toes. 🐵 Not only that, but the side of my right foot where my little toe is seems to squish outwards — but not all the time. Maybe it's a result of putting weight on it? Clearly I need to put a book on my head and improve my posture.