In Japan, the best art gallery might be right under your shoes. Manhole covers here come with cherry blossoms, local mascots, and even famous anime characters. And once you start looking down, you’ll find covers hiding, peeking and posing in the funniest places!
Not just a lid – it’s street art!
Many Japanese towns decorate their manhole covers with local flowers, landmarks and mascots. In Tokorozawa (Saitama), around KADOKAWA’s culture complex Tokorozawa Sakura Town, you can even find covers featuring popular anime. Look closely at the outer ring: cherry blossoms, the town name, and a word telling you what flows underneath.
What’s under there?
Manholes aren’t only for sewers. Some lead to water pipes, fire hydrants, or underground tanks that store water for firefighting. In Japan, local residents even help check them during disaster-prevention drills. The lifted cover in this photo reads 防火用水槽 – “fire-fighting water tank.”
Masters of hide-and-seek
Once you’re hooked, you’ll start noticing manholes in places nobody planned for photos: half-hidden under equipment, perfectly camouflaged in the road, or sitting proudly on a little hill. Each one has its own personality!
How to enjoy manhole hunting
- Look down near stations, shopping streets and tourist spots – towns love to show off their designs there.
- Check the outer ring: the town name and emblem tell you where you are.
- Collect the characters! Pokémon manholes (“Poké Lids”) can be found all over Japan.
- Don’t forget the small square lids – they come in fun designs, too.
Manhole-hunting manners (please read!)
Manholes are often in the road, so always watch out for cars and bikes, and don’t block sidewalks or the yellow tactile paving used by visually impaired people. Never try to open a cover. All photos on this site were taken from public streets (or with permission), and we don’t photograph private homes. Please don’t aim your camera at private homes, and never step onto private property. Enjoy from the street, quietly and politely.
More photos
A little more detail (for the curious)
- Manhole or handhole? Strictly speaking, a “manhole” is big enough for a person to climb into. Small square lids for water meters and valves are “handholes” or meter boxes – but we street-watchers happily count them as manholes, too!
- Read the kanji: 汚水 = sewage, 雨水 / 雨 = rainwater, 合流 = combined sewer (sewage and rain together), 水道 / 量水器 / メータ = water pipe and water meter, 消火栓 = fire hydrant, 防火用水 = fire-fighting water.
- Anime manholes in Tokorozawa: Around Tokorozawa Sakura Town, KADOKAWA’s big culture complex, you can spot covers featuring works such as Spice and Wolf, Sword Art Online, Evangelion and Gundam.
- Poké Lids (ポケふた): Pokémon-themed manholes installed in towns across Japan. Many of them are also PokéStops in Pokémon GO.
- Manhole Cards: Free collectible cards introducing local manhole designs, handed out at tourist information centers and town facilities. A perfect little souvenir!
- Since when? Decorated manholes started spreading across Japan around the 1980s, as a way for towns to show off their local pride.
