Otaru in Hokkaido is a historic city sometimes said as "Roofless Museum", which means that various cultural heritage including old buildings still exists in the city, and the whole of the city looks like an open-air museum.
The post and the fireplug may be one of the examples. The old-fashioned posts like in the photo are still in use, which is rare to see in other areas of Japan. Even in Otaru, the majority is popular box-typed post, and the existing old type posts will be replaced by box-typed in the future when they get old and cannot stand to serve.
Fireplugs
Fireplugs' shape and colors are also interesting. The fireplugs in Otaru are painted in different colors by their locations. This color variety is for the fire fighters to distinguish which reservoir the water comes from. The fire fighters have to be careful not to take too much water from reservoirs in one area since it causes lack of water pressure.
Apart from the actual reason, Otaru's varied fireplugs look lovely, and must amuse the visitors' eyes as a feature of Otaru in Hokkaido.
