Opennippon.com

Japanese manhole covers have long been regarded as works of art, allowing artistic expression. This fact has become famous worldwide, and more and more covers introduce romanized Japanese words into design.

The shinkansen bullet trains keep amazing passengers with their sleek appearance and top speed of up to 320 km they can develop at certain routes.

Lush greenery of central Kyoto.

Before constructing a building, earthquake resistance of its base must be secured.

This time of the year is also a season of shibazakura, or moss phlox, which literally means “lawn cherry” in Japanese.

Kyoto is famous as a “flat” city with low-rise buildings and absence of expressways above the ground, and this 17-storied Okura hotel is the tallest.

Traditional buildings are usually decorated with various objects that have usually been associated with bringing good luck, success, longevity: cranes, pine trees, plum flowers etc.

Bright pink kawazu-zakura is an early blooming sort of sakura trees, that can be seen a few weeks or even one month earlier than, for example, the somei yoshino white sakura.

Graduation ceremonies are happening all around the country now, and girls have a special attire for this occasion. It is a combination of a furisode kimono and hakama wide trousers.

Some more of beautiful plum flowers.

Plum trees are now in full bloom in most parts of Japan. Amazing beauty and scent!

Beautiful decorations for the Hina matsuri Girls’ festival that has just happened last Friday, March 3rd.

A bicycle parking space is a common scene you can see anywhere you go around Japan.

Snowfalls that may be not as severe as in some northern countries, usually cause major traffic disruptions. This often happens in Western Japan, where snowy winters are seldom experienced.

Sweets addiction.

The areas of Iwate and Nagano in the north of Japan on the island of Honshu are famous for apples. Among many varieties, Shinano apples are notable for their huge size, almost twice as large as other apples.

This is how a typical residential area with private houses away from the city center looks like.

Christmas is around the corner!

In some places stations let visitors anticipate what landscape or landmarks are awaiting them in the vicinity. For instance, these maple leaves and sakura petals between ticket machines serve as signs of scenic spots located nearby.

Autumn is the season of chrysanthemums, and you can admire beautiful arrangements in many temples and shrines.

A stylish shop selling various organic products.

Despite the large variety of food in Japan, these instant noodles still remain probably the most popular dish among students, office workers, travelers and all those who need to grab something fast and nutritious.

Kids from a kindergarten on a walk. See how cute their colorful hats are!

This is how you can easily meet practitioners of kyudo (the art of archery) in the city. According to some sources, the number of female practitioners in Japan is estimated to be larger than that of male archers.

Three-color barber pole signs that are said to first appear in Europe in the Medieval Times, are widely used in Japan to indicate barber shops.