fire hydrant

I notice there are no fire hydrants. When there is a fire hydrant sign, what would I look for that indicates where the water source comes from? Just curious. Thanks!

There are fire hydrants, they are just set into the ground so they don't get in the way rather than standing out of the ground where they can be easily damaged like the ones I saw in the US.

It's the same where I come from, fire hydrants have been set into the ground for decades- I have always wondered why they have them sticking up still in the US.

I forget how they are indicated in Japan, but if I see one while I am out today I will report back!

Make sure you don't park on top or too close to them, as you will get in the way.

http://www.google.co.jp/images?um=1&hl=ja&rls=com.microsoft%3A*%3AIE-S...

Hmm, the images Uco linked to show a lot of old-style above ground fire hydrants, but I think the ones under manhole covers are more common, in Tokyo at least.

In NZ by law we have to park a certain distance from a fire hydrant cover (there is a yellow triangle on the road to indicate that there's one nearby) so that - I wonder what the law is in Japan?

The picture on the top right (city.abiko.chiba.jp) is the type I usually see (usually while in a car, so I can't take a closer look).

So I assume the water source is right next to it. Is it like a manhole that I would look for?

As others have said they are in the ground.
They are marked by a red pole about 2" in diameter. It is about 10' tall and forms a circle at the top. There is a sign in the circle.
When you see a fire engine or pass a fire station you might notice a length of hard suction curled up on the side of one of Tokyo's 486 engines.
That is dropped into the ground hydrant and they draft from there. Also, there is no hose bed, but usually there are two hose carts that are pulled out and pushed up the smaller streets to the fire.
Newer engines have a hydraulic tail gate for lowering the hose carts to the street.

As for the Google image link, I think the photos of the overground ones are mostly from the snow country such as Hokkaido. It would be a problem to dig snow each time you need water to extinguish fire. You still commonly see them up in Hakodate and such, and being from Greater Tokyo, me and my family were all excited about that.

Anyway, fire hydrants are called 消火栓 (shou-ka-sen) and I thought it might help if there are photos of all kinds so that you'd notice them wherever you travel in Japan. On the other hand, the locals usually just watch out for the 3 kanji.