I used to think I was an observant person, until my cousin sent me an article about manhole covers in Japan. I was in Japan more than 10 years when she sent me the link about the ornate manhole covers here. My first instinct was that it must be in a part of Japan that I have never visited…
Then I started looking down
and sure enough each city’s manhole cover is different.
“MatsumotoManholeCover” by Original uploader was Rei at en.wikipedia – Originally from en.wikipedia; description page is/was here.. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MatsumotoManholeCover.jpg#mediaviewer/File:MatsumotoManholeCover.jpg
Often they are representative of the city. For example, I recently posted about the 100 caves of Yoshimi, which is the design of the manhole covers in the that city.
Some are in colour, but most are etched into the steel without colour.
Even the fire hydrant manhole covers have their own special images.
So if you plan to come to Japan, remember to look down! Not only will you see something unique to Japan, but you will also learn something about the area you are visiting. For those who have visited or live here; have / did you notice/d them!?
There is a fantastic selection over at the Land of Wa; http://dustinandlaura.blogspot.jp/search/label/Manholes
The wonderful blogger behind Shizuoka gourmet often blogs about this topic and I see he recently posted an in-depth article about it, with fantastic photos, be sure to check it out; http://shizuokagourmet.com/2015/01/20/manhole-covers-in-shizuoka-prefecture-35-new-commemorative-fire-hydrant-manhole-cover-in-shzuoka-city/
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Thanks for the update!
Best regards,
Robert
Wow – what a great idea and gorgeous too!! Never seen manhole covers quite like this.
I am not sure if they are unique to Japan, but I’m guessing there are very few places, if any at all, that do this. It’s fun seeking out the colored ones. ????
Sometimes making an effort such as painting manhole covers can really add a bit of cheer to someone’s day.
I love finding the colored ones now. It is a bit of fun finding them and they definitely bring a smile to my face. ????
How fantastic! I like to think that it brightens the day of people that are too sad to look up…
That is a nice thought, or when a wet windy dismal day forces our gaze downwards, we’re reminded of sunnier days! And I’m wondering now if maybe manhole covers were one of the few things to survive the tsunami up North…I hope so. ????