
Within the Nineteen Eighties as a method to promote native tradition and tourism native authorities in Japan started designing distinctive and creative manhole covers. Every municipality usually has its personal distinctive manhole cowl designs, that includes native landmarks, historic occasions, flora, fauna, and different culturally important symbols.
In Sumida Ward in Tokyo you could find a person gap cowl that includes “The Nice Wave off Kanagawa,” by Katsushika Hokusai. Hokusia was born in Sumida. There may be one other stunning manhole cowl within the ward that options “Fantastic Wind, Clear Morning (Purple Fuji)”, one other of Hokusai’s sequence of woodblock prints from his “Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji”.
If you’re visiting Tokyo the town’s Bureau of Sewage has an inventory of the designer manhole covers which could be present in every of the town’s wards. The record consists of the deal with the place you could find every featured designer manhole cowl.
To assist promote Japan’s sewers and the nation’s stunning manhole covers the Japan Sewage Works Affiliation additionally prints manhole cowl playing cards. Every collectible card contains a image of a manhole cowl and the coordinates the place the manhole could be discovered. On the reverse is an outline of the manhole’s design. The cardboard’s can be found without spending a dime from vacationer info workplaces and at sewage therapy crops and have change into massively well-liked with locals and vacationers alike.
Each critical manhole cowl collector must bookmark the Manhole Card Map. This interactive map options the places the place you possibly can choose up manhole cowl playing cards. Every marker on the map options the picture of the manhole cowl whose card could be collected at that location. Click on on the marker and you could find the identify and deal with of the vacationer workplace or sewage plant distributing the cardboard, the opening hours and a hyperlink to search out out in regards to the card’s inventory availability.
Japan’s manhole playing cards are a part of a nationwide initiative known as “GKP” (Floor Utilization Promotion). The GKP web site additionally supplies the distribution places for every manhole cowl card. Choose a prefecture from the drop-down menu and you’ll view an inventory of all of the manhole cowl playing cards printed within the area. This record consists of the deal with of every places, the opening hours and a hyperlink to examine the cardboard’s availability.
Again in 2009 I posted a hyperlink to a Google Map of the manholes themselves. This map now not exists and I have been unable to search out one other interactive map of the place you could find Japan’s designer manhole covers. If you recognize of such a map please depart a hyperlink within the feedback.