Nichihara Town

This is the second manhole cover design from the small town of Nichihara (now merged with Tsuwano) in western Shimane. The first design is here. Nichihara is home to an observatory, built in 1985, it had one of the largest lenses in japan, but is no longer very popular.

There are lots of old. decaying buildings,....

...and the streams running into the Takatsu River are well controlled, but not home to much wildlife...

Nearby is the largest tree in Shimane

More Japanese draincovers

Nichihara Town

This is the draincover for Nichihara in Shimane, located on Route 9 about halfway between Masuda and Tsuwano. In 2005 it became part of Tsuwano. The design shows a catfish and some sweetfish (ayu). The Takatsu River that flows through Nichihara has a reputation for being one of the cleanest rivers in Japan, and a lot of people come here to fish for the sweetfish. Thats probably why the catfish is so happy.

I passed through the town on a walk from Tsuwano to Masuda, and saw the draincover just in front of an abandoned Pachinko Parlor.

The parlor is no longer there. Probably a convenience store or a new pachinko parlor has replaced it.

According to ancient beliefs, a giant catfish that lives underground is responsible for causing earthquakes. A fascinating article on the catfish in Japanese folklore.

The biggest tree in Shimane

This is the biggest tree in Shimane Prefecture!
It is located in a small village just downstream of Nichihara Town on the Tsuwano River.
It is a Kusunoki , a Camphor tree, and last time it was measured it had a span of 12.3 metres, and a height of 29.5 metres.
I seriously doubt that every tree in the prefecture has been measured :).