JCC E-Magazine February 2024

When walking around in Japan, you may have noticed the colourful manhole covers, and that the various designs are unique to the different regions of Japan. With both safety and design aesthetics in mind, they are made using moulds and coloured individually by hand. This form of “street art” that weights 90 kilograms has not only attracted fans within Japan, but also from overseas as well. How did these designer manhole covers come about?

Like many other countries, manhole covers in Japan used to have geometric patterns. It was only in 1977 that the first designer manhole covers appeared in Naha city of Okinawa, featuring a pictorial design of happy fish in water that had been cleaned by the sewer system. This initiative captured people’s attention, and soon became an effective way to inform people about the sewer system, as well as to promote a good image of sewers. A few years later in 1981, the production of coloured manhole covers began. The bright fluorescent paints made it easier to see the lids at night, and thus manhole covers served an additional function of helping firefighting activities at night.

The practicality of such designs prompted some manhole covers to show pictures of fire trucks, indicating the locations of fire hydrants, or display emergency escape routes in the event of an earthquake or tsunami. Some may even include QR codes that link you to videos with information about the town, or augmented reality. Recently, Tokorozawa city in Saitama even installed Japan’s first illuminated manhole covers with the usage of LEDs. By brightening up the streets, the glowing lids also help to prevent crime.

Manhole covers also started to be decorated with local sights, symbols, and mascots, and became one way to revitalise local communities and tourism. In fact, more than 90% of municipalities have their own unique manhole cover designs. Popular characters such as Hello Kitty, or Pokemon or One Piece characters may also adorn manhole covers. The designs are region-specific, encouraging fans of the characters to visit these areas of Japan. For example, Poké Lids is an ongoing project in which different Pokemon creatures can be found everywhere across manhole covers in Japan. In Yokohama city, Pikachu against the backdrop of Yokohama appears on the manhole cover.

Building on the momentum, collector cards featuring manhole covers were also released and proved to be a success. There is even merchandise inspired by manhole cover designs, such as keychains, T-shirts, mugs, and coasters. Manhole cover enthusiasts, also known as manholers, can gather the annual Manhole Cover Summit organised by the Sewer Public Information Platform (GKP). Besides viewing an assortment of manhole covers and popular manhole cards, visitors can enjoy a barbeque using a real manhole cover and dorayaki sweets with designer manhole cover patterns, or even tour the sewer facility. The 10th edition that was held last year drew around 14,000 attendees.

The covers installed on roads last around 15 years, while those installed on pavements last around 30 years. As such, some old lids have been put on sale to the public at around 3,000yen each. It is no wonder that the ones dating back to 1970s or 1980s are especially coveted. When Maebashi city in Guma first put up 10 manhole covers for sale in 2017, almost 200 interested buyers stepped forward.

So, the next time you visit Japan, you may want to look down at your feet as well. You might just discover unique industrial art that is full of local history and culture.

Japan’s first designer manhole cover (Naha City) © Sewer Public Information Platform (GKP)

Resources

“Designer Manhole Covers: A New Kind of Region-Specific Item”. 2020. Web Japan. Accessed 15 January. https://web-japan.org/trends/11_fashion/fas202011_manhole-design.html.

McCurry, Justin. 2023. “Manhole covers become collector’s items in Japan”. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/11/manhole-covers-become-collectors-items-in-japan.

Smith, Martyn. 2023. “Japanese manhole covers are painted with flowers, bridges, mountains and mascots – and now they’re for sale”. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/japanese-manhole-covers-are-painted-with-flowers-bridges-mountains-and-mascots-and-now-theyre-for-sale-215556.

“Manhole Mania: Exploring Japan’s Trendy Manhole Cover Art!”. 2019. LIVE JAPAN. https://livejapan.com/en/in-hokkaido/in-pref-hokkaido/in-sapporo_chitose/article-a0001529/.

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