Sounds awful coming from me but trust me, it’s not the kind of ‘manhole’ you’re thinking of.
I’m referring to the awesome manholes you’ll cross while walking around towns and cities in Japan. It’s such a delight seeing these manholes because honestly, who would think of manholes as a part of a cityscape, let alone have the potential to bear a city’s identity? Certainly not in Manila. Definitely in Japan.
Anyway, here’s a rundown of some of the lovely manholes I’ve crossed during my trips!
Akashi, Hyogo
Himeji, Hyogo
Kakogawa, Hyogo
Iwami, Tottori
Hakata, Fukuoka
Akihabara, Tokyo
I’ll probably add more in future posts but I hope I could get you started on a manholespotting journey with me. Unless you’ve already started. If so, do share them with me! Like, I wonder if I go to Takarazuka, will I see manholes featuring Takarazuka or characters from Osamu Tezuka’s works? Also, I love saying manhole within another context. There’s a coffee table book about Japanese manholes called Drainspotting, but what’s the fun in that?
There’s also an awesome flickr group and blog featuring these Japanese manholes. And if you feel like joining Japanese enthusiasts with their manhole hunt, you can even join Japan’s Manhole Cover Society.
Maybe the one with the firetruck serves a specific purpose and is code for something? I remember watching a dorama before where one character said that the specific manhole (snort) they were looking at is for water/sewage and not electricity.
Yup. That’s definitely firetruck for water supply that’s why it’s found in the lot of places. ; w; And yeah, most of the ones I showed here are for water supply. It’s indicated if it’s for water or electricity.