It seems a bit odd to be posting a flowery manhole cover in the height of leaf-peeping season but after a thorough examination of my photo catalogs, I couldn’t find any with maple leaves. So flowers it is.

Kitanakagusuku is an unassuming little community in the middle of Okinawa’s main island. It’s bordered by the island’s sole expressway and the US Marine Corps’ largest local base. Still, there are a few treats to be found in the area, including an old native Okinawan home (converted into a type of museum) and some hidden cafes that serve wonderful and cheap lunches.

I stumbled across this manhole cover on the way to a sunflower festival last spring. A small patch of land has been set aside for sunflower cultivation and in the late spring months, it bursts into brilliant color. While the flowers on this cover look more like daffodils (and I never did hear of a local daffodil festival), it’s at least a reminder of a beautiful spring scene.