Manhole Covers Are Good.

Really

If you have been to Japan recently then you may already be aware of today’s Good Thing subject.

If you haven’t been to Japan recently, don’t worry.

Because today we’re talking about manhole covers in Japan and they are not just good. They are awesome!

So, manhole covers. Here in the United States they are both boring and esoteric. Boring in that we don’t much with them. I mean here are two of the more typical ones:

Atlantic City and Los Angeles

Esoteric in that they used to be the subject of interview questions at Google and Microsoft, “Why are manhole covers round?”

But!

In Japan, manhole covers are a joy. They are designed, relevant and fun.

It started in 1977 with this one found in Naha City:

If you can’t tell, this manhole features fish. This design was chosen because it was deployed alongside a new sewer system that cleaned water (and benefited fish!)

The story is that this manhole went on to inspire others in Japan, and they assuredly spread throughout that country.

Half a decade later manhole design in Japan went from metalwork and metal sculpture progressed to fluorescent and reflective paints. Today, it is estimated that more than 90% of Japan's municipalities have at least one designer manhole cover. These designs range from pop-culture to region-specific landscapes and historical facts.

This is such a good thing. It’s relatively low cost. It can drive tourism, celebrate history and improve a city or rural areas aesthetic (albeit in a small way.)

So, today we are celebrating Japanese manholes. Here is a smattering sample:

From and courtesy of Sagae City a city (and area) known for its cherries.

The first Pokemon cover from Kagoshima

A discursion on Pokemon covers: The first one (above) was installed in 2018, now there are Pokemon covers in 37 prefectures across Japan.

Featuring peaches! a specialty from Date City

"The Great Wave off Kanagawa," by Katsushika Hokusai found in Sumida Ward, where he was born.

The Omnipresent Hello Kitty from Tama City

This one is a personal favorite, from Otaru:

Otters

It doesn’t end with the covers (or the otters for that matter.) There are “Manhole Cover Summits” are held for, I kid you not, “manholers” a term coined to define those reasonably obsessed with these works of art. And there are now Manhole cards which have turned into collectibles and are issued in concert with Japan’s Sewer Public Information Platform (GKP.)

We need more art in our lives. These manhole covers provide that.

But they also provide moments of happiness and laughter and do so from something we may be least likely to expect them, entrance points to sewer systems.

If we can make sewers into something artistic and fun, that has to be a good thing for us as a people.