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Photos: Manhole art on Japan’s sewers sparks new craze

A castle design for an ancient town, a bay bridge for a port and Mt Fuji for a city at the foot of Japan's iconic mountain are just a few of nearly 12,000 designs adorning manhole covers in 1,700 towns across Japan. Promoting the importance of sewage in society, such designs have also sparked interest among collectors in cute obsessed Japan.

Updated on: Jan 15, 2018 9:59 AM IST

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A combo photo shows designed manhole covers in different cities of Japan. Japan’s sewerage industry has found a way to clean up its dirty and smelly image with elaborately designed and colourful manhole covers of 12,000 local varieties nationwide – including of course, a Hello Kitty design. They represent an instant guide to a place featuring its history, folklore, or speciality goods. (Behrouz Mehri / AFP)

Updated on Jan 15, 2018 9:59 AM

A combo photo shows designed manhole covers in different cities of Japan. Japan’s sewerage industry has found a way to clean up its dirty and smelly image with elaborately designed and colourful manhole covers of 12,000 local varieties nationwide – including of course, a Hello Kitty design. They represent an instant guide to a place featuring its history, folklore, or speciality goods. (Behrouz Mehri / AFP)

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A worker operates an electromagnet to collect scrap metal to be melted at a factory in Otawara. Appealing to a Japanese love of detail and “kawaii” (cute), bespoke manhole covers adorn the streets of 1,700 towns, cities and villages across Japan. (Behrouz Mehri / AFP)

Updated on Jan 15, 2018 9:59 AM

A worker operates an electromagnet to collect scrap metal to be melted at a factory in Otawara. Appealing to a Japanese love of detail and “kawaii” (cute), bespoke manhole covers adorn the streets of 1,700 towns, cities and villages across Japan. (Behrouz Mehri / AFP)

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Workers pour molten metal into a manhole cover mold at a factory. The history of decorating manhole covers in Japan dates back 40 years to a bid to improve the image of the sewerage system. (Behrouz Mehri / AFP)

Updated on Jan 15, 2018 9:59 AM

Workers pour molten metal into a manhole cover mold at a factory. The history of decorating manhole covers in Japan dates back 40 years to a bid to improve the image of the sewerage system. (Behrouz Mehri / AFP)

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Japanese employee Isamu Kamiya paints a manhole cover. Cover designs must have the same friction level no matter which direction humans or cars come from to avoid slippage. This need for friction resulted in placing extra streaks of clouds, sea waves or tiny stars in the background, giving birth to “condensed designs”. (Behrouz Mehri / AFP)

Updated on Jan 15, 2018 9:59 AM

Japanese employee Isamu Kamiya paints a manhole cover. Cover designs must have the same friction level no matter which direction humans or cars come from to avoid slippage. This need for friction resulted in placing extra streaks of clouds, sea waves or tiny stars in the background, giving birth to “condensed designs”. (Behrouz Mehri / AFP)

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An employee checks new manhole covers at a factory in Otawara, Tochigi prefecture. Overall, there are some 15 million manholes in Japan, of which only a fraction have colourful designed covers, carefully hand-painted. (Behrouz Mehri / AFP)

Updated on Jan 15, 2018 9:59 AM

An employee checks new manhole covers at a factory in Otawara, Tochigi prefecture. Overall, there are some 15 million manholes in Japan, of which only a fraction have colourful designed covers, carefully hand-painted. (Behrouz Mehri / AFP)

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A collection of designed manhole cover cards in Tokyo. The designs have spawned a collection craze among so-called “manholers.” Given their size, covers cannot easily be collected in the same way people hoard stamps and coins. To satisfy demand, the private-public GKP network designed to promote awareness on the importance of sewerage has released 1.4 million cards of 293 different covers. (Behrouz Mehri / AFP)

Updated on Jan 15, 2018 9:59 AM

A collection of designed manhole cover cards in Tokyo. The designs have spawned a collection craze among so-called “manholers.” Given their size, covers cannot easily be collected in the same way people hoard stamps and coins. To satisfy demand, the private-public GKP network designed to promote awareness on the importance of sewerage has released 1.4 million cards of 293 different covers. (Behrouz Mehri / AFP)

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A woman walks past a manhole cover bearing a firefighter in Kawaguchi. The cards are numbered in chronologically and come with the manhole’s GPS location. When a real cover does become available, demand is brisk. The city of Maebashi held a highly competitive lottery in October offering 10 used manhole covers -- 40 kilogrammes of iron -- at 3,000 yen ($28) with more than 190 bids for each cover. (Behrouz Mehri / AFP)

Updated on Jan 15, 2018 9:59 AM

A woman walks past a manhole cover bearing a firefighter in Kawaguchi. The cards are numbered in chronologically and come with the manhole’s GPS location. When a real cover does become available, demand is brisk. The city of Maebashi held a highly competitive lottery in October offering 10 used manhole covers -- 40 kilogrammes of iron -- at 3,000 yen ($28) with more than 190 bids for each cover. (Behrouz Mehri / AFP)

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Workers prepare to install a new manhole at Tama Chuo Park in Tama city. A plain cover costs some $600 but a colourful, designed one can be double that depending on the number of colours used and the level of detail used. (Behrouz Mehri / AFP)

Updated on Jan 15, 2018 9:59 AM

Workers prepare to install a new manhole at Tama Chuo Park in Tama city. A plain cover costs some $600 but a colourful, designed one can be double that depending on the number of colours used and the level of detail used. (Behrouz Mehri / AFP)

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A worker installs a new manhole lid bearing Hello Kitty at Tama Chuo Park. And manhole covers don’t simply hide dirty sewers; there is a story even to plain covers -- such as finding the logos of defunct companies, enthuses Tetsuro Sasabe, a manholer. “I’m interested in why the manhole is there, where it leads to -- I’d say I’m interested in what’s under the manhole covers,” he said. (Behrouz Mehri / AFP)

Updated on Jan 15, 2018 9:59 AM

A worker installs a new manhole lid bearing Hello Kitty at Tama Chuo Park. And manhole covers don’t simply hide dirty sewers; there is a story even to plain covers -- such as finding the logos of defunct companies, enthuses Tetsuro Sasabe, a manholer. “I’m interested in why the manhole is there, where it leads to -- I’d say I’m interested in what’s under the manhole covers,” he said. (Behrouz Mehri / AFP)

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People walk past designed manhole covers in Kawaguchi. The craze has since spread online with abundant information on where to find the best manholes via the hashtag #manhotalk. (Behrouz Mehri / AFP)

Updated on Jan 15, 2018 9:59 AM

People walk past designed manhole covers in Kawaguchi. The craze has since spread online with abundant information on where to find the best manholes via the hashtag #manhotalk. (Behrouz Mehri / AFP)

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