The Japanese are amazing. They are scientific technological wizards yet artistic geniuses all at the same time. While the rest of the world simply does ‘practicality and functional’, the Japanese take it one step or maybe 10 steps forward and make it practicality, functional with fun and beauty. What in the world am I talking about? Manholes! The manhole covers…

You do know what that is right? That heavy round/square/rectangle metal piece that lays on the ground/street to cover/prevent anyone from falling into or unauthorized persons out of a manhole?

Manhole covers usually weigh around 50 kg and more as they need to be heavy to keep them in place when traffic passes over them. They are made out of cast iron and sometimes infilled with concrete. And it is the fact that they are made with cast iron that you find them getting stolen (especially when metal prices rise). Seems like a silly thing to steal but it happens and when it does, accidents follow suit.

But that’s enough trivia about manhole covers for you. Now I want to show you why I’m proud of the Japanese. They took creative decorative manhole covers to a whole new level. You should be aware that patterned manhole covers are not new nor confined to Japan…Norway and Germany have some pretty neat ones, but they pale in comparison to the Japanese ones.

Manhole covers in Japan are decorated pieces of art. Symbols specific to an area or town, local landmarks, festivals, flora and fauna and much more are all incorporated into the art.

Pics entitled cover credit to pref.kyoto.jp

Pics entitle manhole credit to pinktentacle