I came across a new manhole cover design while wandering around town:

One thing that I like about Kobe is that there are random sculptures all over the place. I took about a 20 minute walk from the immigration office to the train station the other day and these are all the sculptures I came across along the way:

I came across this wall in a park - all the bricks tiles in the wall are the hands of children:

Some more of the decorative manholes I came across recently (I get really strange looks from people when I stop to take photos of these )

I was wandering around Kobe this weekend when I came across a memorial for the Great Hanshin earthquake that happened in 1995 - believe it or not, I was there for it. Although I lived a bit outside the disaster zone, I was there within a few days in order to help my wife's aunt. It is certainly a natural disaster that I hope I never have to live through again...

I was wandering the other day when I came across all these old pachinko machines!

Here are a couple more manhole covers I came across the other day:

One thing that I have noticed is that there are a lot of clocks in Japan. I wonder if it is part of the being on schedule attitude that the public transportation runs by? Unlike in the US where you can be in a jam if you don't wear a watch, practically anywhere you go you can find a clock in Japan.

I found this clock at the top of a hill at a scenic view spot. If I had been in the US, I would have questioned what a clock was doing at a scenic view spot, but not in Japan. It seemed perfectly normal.

Of course, now that I have made the connection that there are a lot of clocks, I'm starting to see them even more. Maybe it's time I gave up my watch

One of the things that I really enjoy about Japan is the arts. In the area where I live, there is a lot of pottery made. Often times the pottery makers will set up tented booths at shrines and sell their wares. It's always a joy to walk through and see all the items they have for sale and they are almost always reasonably priced if there is something that catches my eye

On my daily morning walk, I came across this sculpture entitled "Town Over The Clouds"

This is another example of the random art that can me found in Japan - this sculpture is located on a fairly busy street that hardly anyone walks on meaning that it probably isn't appreciated by many. Not sure why these are set up in strange places like this - would seem more appropriate for a park or something...

As you might imagine, there are a lot of differences between Japan and the US. One interesting thing is that the manholes in Japan are often decorated in a theme of the city where they are. Here are a few that I came across today while walking to the store:

Obviously, having these specially made is more expensive that getting a generic cover. Is this a good use of taxpayer money in your opinion or would it be better used in other areas?