Manhole Fruit

Manhole Fruit

Found this one outside of Yanai in Yamaguchi Prefecture. Not sure which fruit it is other than a citrus.

Mito Town down in the west of Shimane is known for its Yuzu, a member of the citrus family that ripens in December.

Asahi Town is up in the mountains a few miles away from my village. They are known for their Nashi, Japanese pears. Much tastier than the pears we have in Europe.

Higashi Izumo seems to favor Kaki, persimmons.

Omishima, a small island in the Inland Sea, part of Ehime grows a lot of different citrus. Not sure which one this is meant to be.

Yanai Shirakabe no Machi

Yanai Shirakabe no Machi

Yanai, a small town and port in Yamaguchi is most well known for its Kingyo Choochin Matsuri featuring goldfish lanterns. The main tourist area of the town is known as Shirakabe no Machi, the street of white walls which consists of white-walled buildings, shops, warehouses, etc, mostly from the Edo period when the town was a bustling port.

Most of the shops now sell crafts, especially the goldfish lanterns, but there is also a famous soy sauce brewery and several of the places are open as small museums.

Purchase a selection of Yanai lanterns from GoodsFromJapan

Yanai Kingyo Chochin Matsuri

Yanai Goldfish Lantern Festival

When I first saw these drain covers in Yanai, a small town on the south coast of Yamaguchi Prefecture, I wondered what relevance owls had to the town. But, it turns out they are of course not owls, but goldfish, or goldfish lanterns to be exact.

Goldfish lanterns are a local craft product, so its not surprising that the towns annual matsuri features them. On August 13th every year the town holds its Kingyo Chochin Matsuri when teams parade with extra-large versions of the lanterns on floats.

Before and after the matsuri the town is decorated with more than 2,000 regular sized goldfish lanterns.

Access - Getting There

Yanai is located on the JR Sanyo Line between Hiroshima and Tokuyama (both of which are on the Shinkansen line).