Senba-bashi (pictured below) lies in a delightful little corner of Kumamoto. It once was the destination of polled boats bringing their wares, particularly fish from Ariake Sea, along Tsuboi River to the castle area; in fact, the castle walls just north of the bridge (now occupied by Daiichi High School) are mostly overlooked but are wonderful for photography (particularly at this time of year, when the camellia are blossoming). It's kanji traditionally is 洗馬橋 ("wash horse bridge") but is also commonly written as 船場橋 ("boat place bridge") - though there is another famous bridge of that name in Uto, so the name is generally written in hiragana. It was for a long period the center of commerce in Kumamoto and has been immortalized in the folk song "Where are You" 「あんたがたどこさ」 - the song plays on the Kumamoto dialect tendency to say "sa" instead of "desu" and includes references to fish and tanuki (racoon dogs) that lived in the nearby hills, which explains the statues of those on the bridge today. Basically (though there are many versions) the lyrics are:
あんたがたどこさ 肥後さ 肥後どこさ 熊本さ 熊本どこさ 船場さ
船場川にはえびさがおってさ それを漁師が網さで捕ってさ 煮てさ 焼いてさ 食ってさ
Here's a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf-RqKPwMBE
The area is definitely worth a visit. The reason I've brought up this topic is that the Shimotori location of the former Daiei department store has chosen a name for its rebirth: COCOSA. No reason was given for why it was not romanized as "Kokosa" - sometimes in life, there are no reasons, so perhaps that is why. Building of the building is slated to commence from spring and will include a basement and eight above-ground stories. Kumanichi: http://kumanichi.com/news/local/main/20161215003.xhtml - William
