Neighbourhood Walk: Take Two

When I took part in Jo's neighbourhood walk around the world, one of the things we had to show you was a local form of transport. Around here we have some interesting trains, but I didn't manage to take any photos of them in time so I posted a picture of our local bus instead. The other day though, out with K, I snapped a few of them for your viewing pleasure.

We live near a short branch line which runs between Yonago and Sakaiminato. One of Sakaiminato's biggest claims to fame is that it is the birthplace of Shigeru Mizuki, a manga artist. His most well-known work is GeGeGe no Kitaro, which features a collection of ghost/monster/other-worldly types. In recent years, especially after a big live-action film was made, Kitaro has become hugely popular and Sakaiminato is making the most of it. The town has a museum, a ghost shrine and a street lined with bronze statues of the characters, as well as lots of souvenir shops and events thoughout the year. Yonago Airport has recently been renamed Yonago Kitaro Airport, and all the stations on the branch line have (as well as their real names) a Kitaro character name. And of course, the trains themselves are decorated too, attracting train-spotters galore...

They are even decorated on the inside! I love the way cat-girl here looks perfectly normal most of the time...

I also got around to finding one of the decorated manhole covers in town. Out here in the suburbs the manhole covers are plain, but in the centre of town you can find ones like this:

If you missed the original post on this visual tour of the neighbourhood you can find it here, and the list of all the other participants around the world is here. Bon voyage!