PHOTO of the DAY (JAPAN)

[AsahinaKimi]

A giant sea bream made of wood, bamboo and cloth is paraded through the shallows in the port of Minamichita, Aichi Prefecture, on July 23, 2011 as part of the town's Tai Matsuri (Sea Bream Festival) to pray for a good catch and safe fishing. The port is divided into five sections, each of which built a model fish, the largest of which reached 15 meters long by five meters high. This year, with the country still reeling from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, banners reading "Hang in there Japan!" were also attached to the models. (Mainichi)

Bonus photos


Mourners in protective suits lay flowers at a make-shift altar during a memorial ceremony for residents from the town of Okuma, inside the contaminated exclusion zone, near the crippled Fukushima DaiIchi nuclear power plant in Okuma. Under tight government supervision, dozens of villagers from the town where the nuclear plant is located ventured deep into an irradiated no-man’s land Sunday to hold a belated memorial for friends and relatives killed by Japan’s earthquake and tsunami.



A girl on her father’s shoulders looks through a maze of sunflowers growing in a field during a sunflower festival in the town of Nogi, Tochigi Prefecture. A total of some 200,000 sunflowers welcomed guests for the summer festival, an annual draw for the small town.


A man clad in samurai armor hands out Sendai's local sweets to a passenger at a baggage inspection area at Sendai Airport as regular domestic flights resumed operations there on July 25, 2011. The airport, straddling the Miyagi Prefecture cities of Natori and Iwanuma, had been severely damaged by the tsunami following the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake. A ceremony held at the airport earlier the same day was attended by Miyagi Gov. Yoshihiro Murai, Japan Airlines President Masaru Onishi and All Nippon Airways Vice President Hayao Hora, among other officials. Non-regular international flights connecting the airport with Seoul and other overseas destinations also started the same day. (Mainichi)

mainichi ohatu! まいにちおはつ！Something new every day!

[Wilms]

1. What a life-full image.

Thanks, AsahinaKimi.

[AsahinaKimi]

4. Did you notice it said

She was sitting on her dad's shoulders? Those are some tall flowers!

[Wilms]

9. I did!

And I'm sure sitting on his shoulders makes the look on her face all the more, well, "Life-Full". :)

[shireen]

2. i LOVE the fish photo!

And the kid in the sunflower field is a close 2nd. Thanks for posting, brought a smile to my tired face. :)

[AsahinaKimi]

6. The fish is amazing...

Look at the photo closely and imagine what it took to build that? The top fins on the fish's back are not attached. Its like they are part of the whole body! The details of what it took to make this fish. I am guessing it is dyed cotton cloth.. its just an amazing piece of art!

[Arugula Latte]

3. Great photos. Thank you!

:hi:

[AsahinaKimi]

8. You are welcome..

[Sarah Ibarruri]

5. I get the feeling that the Japanese know the secret of life, how to live, how to never give up. nt

[AsahinaKimi]

7. I believe its called the

"Ganbarimasu" spirit. Ganbarimaus means to "do your best!" ganbariyo!

[Sarah Ibarruri]

12. Ah! There's even a word for that quality. I was wondering. nt

[NBachers]

10. This is always a good DU feature, AsahinaKimi, but somehow, today's selections really affected me

Thank You!

[AsahinaKimi]

11. You are most welcome..

Kochira koso! こちらこそ！　

[Sal Minella]

13. Wonderful pictures -- even if nobody typed posts on DU

I would come here for your photos, DemoTex's photos, the **Photography Contest** photos, and the Friday Afternoon "Nobody Could POSSIBLY Know This Much About Art" pictures.

Love the bream. Just.Love.It.

[AsahinaKimi]

16. I would love to see a video

On how they built this big fish. It would be incredible!

[Historic NY]

14. Love the flowers.....the people have "Seishin".

[AsahinaKimi]

17. Honto desu. Kokoro ne!

[Forkboy]

15. I thought that first pic was a behind the scenes shot from the next Ultraman movie.

:)

[AsahinaKimi]

18. Silly Forkboy ..didn't you know that is

Godzilla's own version of sashimi?

[Forkboy]

19. LOL

Thanks, I needed a laugh tonight pretty badly. :)