In 95% of Japan’s 1,780 municipalities you will find artistic manhole covers unique to each city and town. It has become apart of the country’s national culture and it’s fascinating to see the different designs and styles that each town and city has chosen to represent them. With over 6,000 manhole cover artworks, it’s no surprise that spotting and photographing them has become a hobby for many.
Apparently all manhole covers are forged in Nagashima Foundry from carved master plates that have all been preserved in a central library. To learn more about the amazing manhole cover art of Japan there’s plenty of resources: there’s a Japanese website with locations and information; a book called ‘Drainspotting‘; a Flickr group with several thousand images; and a wonderful individual collection by S Morito (MRSY on Flickr) with over 352 different manhole covers.
Random factoid: Manhole covers are round so the covers can never accidentally fall inside. Brilliant!
1. Osaka
2. Osaka City
3. Takamatsu Kagawa
4. Kinosaki Town
5. Kadoma City
6. Kishiwada City
7. Yakage Okayama
8. Ichinomiya Town
9. Izumisno City
10. Ibaraki City
11. Yamatokoriyama Nara
12. Takahama Fukui
13. Ikoma Nara
14. Kuwana Mie
15. Daito City
16. Kishiwada City
17. Izumi Osaka
18. Yasugi City
19. Matsue Shimane
20. Ogaka Gifu
21. Ikaruga Town
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