Japan’s Manhole Covers: Manhole Tourism, it’s a Thing!
When most travelers think of Japan, images of cherry blossoms, bullet trains, and probably food come to mind. But there is another side of Japan’s creativity and one of my favorite works of art, right beneath your feet, the beautiful manhole covers.
Across Japan, in almost every town and city, ordinary sewer lids are transformed into intricate works of art. The manholes showcase local landmarks, mascots, nature, and icons from that specific town or city.
I didn’t know about Japan’s manhole covers until moving here, and yes, manhole tourism is a thing! Visitors, including myself hunt for and photograph Japan’s most beautiful manhole covers. This post is all about Japan’s manhole covers and the tourism around it.
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It sounds weird, but manhole tourism is a thing and even I am guilty of it, not that it’s a bad thing!
Manhole tourism is popular in Japan. When visiting Japan, instead of looking up at the exciting neon lights, enthusiasts look down in search of Japan’s most creative and colorful manhole covers.
For me, it’s a souvenir, another way of tracking my travels around Japan. Each manhole design reflects the character of its city or town featuring landmarks, flowers, nature, events, etc..
For example, while walking around the Japanese city of Himeji, you might stumble upon a manhole with the famous Himeji Castle, or in Hiroshima, you can spot manholes with their favorite baseball team on it, the Hiroshima Carp.
Manhole tourism in Japan has gotten more popular in recent years. I’ve heard of some travelers planning their entire trip just based on the manholes. Not a bad idea, it gets you to some remote places and outside the typical Tokyo and Kyoto itinerary.
History Behind Japan's Artistic Manhole Covers
In Japan, everything seems to be cutesy and colorful even the manhole covers. But this wasn’t always the case. In fact, the detailed and interesting manhole covers in Japan is fairly new, dating back to the 1980s.
The local governments were trying to find ways to make the public infrastructure more appealing so that in a way locals could get behind it for funding reasons. The idea was proposed to decorate the manhole lids with regional designs.
The crafty manhole designs were meant to spark interest in the rather expensive sewer projects. What stared off as a small project quickly spread throughout Japan.
Soon after, towns and cities across Japan started to create their own unique manhole cover designs, each coming up with their own local identity.
Today, there are more the 12,000 different manhole covers throughout Japan. Not only are they functional, but the have become a form of public art drawing the interest of tourists every year.
Culture Behind the Designs
The culture behind Japan’s artistic manhole covers is more then just pretty designs. The pictures and representations on the manholes reflect the culture, creativity, and community of the town or city in Japan.
Each manhole cover is unique and tells a story whether it be a town mascot or a popular festival.
The manhole covers are also part of Japan’s love of regional individuality. In Japanese, the word “Gotochi” means local. Every prefecture has a unique highlight and often times these are represented in the manholes.
For instance, you might find a manhole cover with Mt. Fuji on it in the prefecture of Shizouka, or a manhole cover with beni imo (sweet potato from Okinawa) on it somewhere in Okinawa.
For locals, the manhole covers can be a sense of pride. For visitors, they offer a meaningful and alternative way to appreciate Japanese culture.
Pokémon Manhole Covers
For manhole tourism in Japan, one of the most popular highlights is the collection on Pokémon manhole covers also known as Pokéfuta (Japanese) and PokéLids.
The installation of Pokémon manhole covers began in 2018. As of now, there are around 300 PokéLids and more continue to be added around rural areas of Japan as well as popular tourist destinations.
Each Pokémon manhole cover is created to reflect the local culture or scenery of the region where they are installed.
The PokéLids are beautifully designed and show original and next generation Pokémon characters. The lids will also have the name (in Japanese) of the Pokémon and region/town you are in. Photos make great souvenirs!
For example you can find Tauros in Uruma, Okinawa which is known for bullfighting. Or Geodude and Baltoy in Iwate Prefecture near the Jomon Prehistoric Sites.
My favorite thing about the Pokémon manhole covers in Japan is that they install them in rural areas. This brings tourism to small towns, Michi-no-Eki (Roadside Stations), local parks, and historical sites.
Many times, while doing road trips in Japan, we mark many of the PokéLids on the map and make an effort to drive to a few of them, you never know where you’ll end up and what cool things you’ll find.
It’s kind of like a treasure hunt, you can map out the routes to each manhole and photograph each PokéLid.
I use this PokéLids website to find the Pokémon manhole covers. You can search by region and the site has a map and coordinates. Simply mark it on your map and try and find the Pokémon manhole cover! Happy Hunting!
Why I Love Japan's Manhole Tourism
Prior to living in Japan, I never paid any attention to a manhole. I mean, there really was never a point, they all look the same and serve the same purpose.
That all changed when I moved to Japan, I instantly fell in love with the beautiful and interesting manhole covers. Then I discovered the Pokémon manhole covers and now I actively seek them out, I don’t even like Pokémon.
To me, it’s become like a treasure hunt, I love looking at each towns manholes, I try and visit new places around Japan just to photograph their manhole covers.
The manhole covers in Japan are so varied, I’ve seen ones with castles, animals, villages, fests, and so much more. Some towns and cities will have multiple different manhole covers too.
Just by searching for manhole covers in Japan, it’s taken me to some incredible places I never thought about visiting like the Onigajo Rock Formations in Mie Prefecture or the foot of Mt. Daisen in Tottori Prefecture.
Some of My Favorite Manhole Covers Around Japan
Conclusion
Japan’s manhole covers are so much more then just sewer manholes you see in other countries. Japan made the effort to make even their manholes beautiful and attractive and it’s led to manhole tourism. Where visitors seek out beautifully decorative manholes throughout Japan and photograph them.
Japan’s manholes include everything from hand0painted designs in small towns to Pokémon themed covers known as PokéLids.
Japan’s detailed manhole covers have turned ordinary street manholes into basically open-air galleries, each manhole telling a story about the region, culture, and traditions of Japan.
Do you know of any must-visit manhole covers in Japan? Leave a photo or comment so that I and others can find it. Thanks!
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