Japan’s amazing manhole art

The Osaka castle on a manhole/sewer cover in Osaka, Japan

Some house art in museums and galleries, while others underneath their feet. Everywhere I traveled in Japan, I saw artistic and intricate manhole covers. Absolutely stunning art in a place you never expect to see ART!

In Kobe, JapanHimeji, Japan

I love a country where they take the effort to make even a manhole cover look beautiful — not to mention just 12000+ designs of them!

A sewer cover with the famous deer of Nara in Nara, Japan

When I did my research, it seems this phenomenon started in 1985. Municipalities were allowed to design their own manhole covers to raise awareness of the costly sewage projects.

The red maple leaf of the sewer/manhole cover in Miyajima, Japan

Very soon, this became a craze and municipalities started competing.

The Atomic bomb depiction on the manhole cover in Nagasaki, JapanPeace as the key message on the site of the first atomic bomb in Hiroshima, Japan

What I came across & clicked are too few. This does give me another reason to go back (if I already didn’t have enough)!

Himeji, JapanKobe, Japan

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