JAPANESE MANHOLES UNCOVERED Welcome to Tokyo. There’s a reason why I’m standing in the middle of the street. Japanese manhole covers Yeah, it’s a pretty unique topic to cover but — the more I traveled around the country making this series the more I discovered how unique these manhole covers are. This one is Tokyo’s design. A very modest cherry blossom. Tokyo’s manhole cover’s contain numbers that tell the location and year installed to make it easier to find in case of trouble. Elsewhere in the world, manhole covers are just something on the street, something forgotten but here in Japan, they’re a work of art. To get a sense of how big the Japanese manhole boom has become I went to the annual Manhole Summit. Outside, manhole covers from all over Japan were on display. You can see each town’s attractions and culture in each one. This year also introduced the manhole card! to a packed auditorium of “manholers" the term used for manhole enthusiasts The cards are really well made featuring the location of the manhole cover – and it’s history and info on the back. They were even featured in the JOURNAL OF SEWAGE this month! The summit is all about manhole covers. And the boom is real. Goods of all kinds are on sale, selling a piece of urban art from every corner of Japan. But if I really want to becomes a manholer myself, I have to go out there and search them out. IN SEARCH OF MANHOLE COVERS Sapporo! This was the first manhole I filmed a year ago when I started this adventure after the Sapporo Snow Festival. Sapporo’s manhole features the clock tower built in 1878, a symbol of the city. On another location shoot, I found this one in Mihonoseki in Shimane prefecture. Mihonoseki is sleepy fishing village with a very small population but their manholes are beautiful. It features a red snapper and the port which protects Miho Shrine.
I n Takamatsu on Shikoku Island, the design represents the battle of Yashima in 1185. A samurai who chased the enemy deep into the sea on his horse. He shot an enemy’s fan off the boat in a single shot. An act that was praised by both sides. His clan won the war. In Osaka, the impressive Osaka Castle with cherry blossoms looms large on the design. In Yonago, Tottori prefecture, a mascot with the stunning Daisen, the Mt Fuji of the East. Aomori city, the very north of Tohoku has one of my favorites. The design represents their big summer festival, NEBUTA which I also took part in as a haneto dancer in a past episode. In central Tottori city, the colorful Shan-Shan festival umbrellas grace the design. The colors really dance off the streets like the festival itself. Nearby is the Tottori Sand Dune which has it’s own sand colored manholes. I shot Japan’s largest desert episode here. Nagoya is Japan’s fourth largest city – and home to the happy water strider design. Chiba prefectures Funabashi city near Tokyo is a famous port town. The design represents its local history on the sea. In Kichijoji, Tokyo, I found firefighter characters on the cover, There is a fire hydrant below ground at the spot. Saitama prefecture has some colorful covers like this one in Misato. On a trip to Niigata prefecture, I found Yahiko’s designs very interesting. Local attractions, mountains, cherry blossoms and it’s famous bicycle race. Finally in Kodaira city is this one. It represents a peaceful life in this Tokyo suburban town. A commuter train with Mt Fuji in the distance In color, the design comes to life showing houses and the suburban life of Japan today. I met Ishii-san who rode his bicycle around the country finding interesting manhole cover designs and who wrote a book on the topic. Nihon no Manhole or Manholes of Japan. Inside, he shows off hundreds of designs with an explanation of its history and meaning. Each one has a story to tell. This is Ishii-san’s favorite from Yaizu city, Shizuoka with local fish (bonito) and Mt. Fuji in the background. HISTORY CORNER Why do Japanese Manholes have designs? The story goes that designs were a public relations approach in the 1960s to get more people aware of the new post war sewer systems, But Naha in Okinawa is said to have the first really artistic design in 1977. See those fish? Original locally produced designs took off in the 1980s. Now, over 95 percent of the 1,780 municipalities in Japan have manhole cover designs. There are approximately 12,000 different manhole cover designs throughout the country with an increasing number of hobbyists searching them out! I asked Ishii-san about that. All over Japan, Wherever there are sewer pipes, there will be manhole covers with designs in Japan. Something I want to emphasize to everyone is that bigger cities do not mean prettier manhole covers but if you go to the rural areas you’ll find designs that are unique to that area There are so many! So rather than urban areas, if you go to the countryside, you’ll find local culture in the designs or things the locals are proud of in their town If you look for that, you’ll find some great discoveries. Rather than just visiting tourist attractions, discovering Japan through manhole covers is super interesting, like my own experience. In that way, it sure will be a fun trip. MANHOLE COVER CASTING FACTORY I visited the Nagashima Imono Manhole Casting Plant to get an inside look on how they make these amazing designs are made. Nagashima-san gave me a tour around the factory. Scrap steel is melted in a big furnace. The glow is mesmerizing. It’s alloyed and melted at temperatures around 3000C Kagalite is added to remove the slag or impurities from the molten metal. Workers collect it after the carbon impurities bond with the kagalite and remove it. Left behind is a sparkling gob of molten waste. When ready, it’s poured into a transfer ladel. Workers remove more carbon impurities, cover and transfer it to the casting area where the molds are waiting. The sand shell molds are placed into boxes called flasks then a large metal frame. The molds has risers and vents which allow the gases and heat to escape. Here the top and bottom of the mold are put together by the machine. The molten metal is poured into the mold. It takes about an hour and a half before the manhole covers and cool enough to be removed from the mold and then placed on a vibrating grate to remove the sand from the mold. The new cover is given a few hits to break up the sand told from the metal. It’s placed on the side to cool. There still pretty hot at this stage and it can take a whole day before they’re at room temperature, but the next stage is right here SHOT BLASTING The manhole covers are lifted into this reinforced box where they’re shot with metal bearings that polish and strengthen the cover. They’re then lifted to the finishing area where the first step is to remove any leftover molding. Next, they’re moved by this musically talented machine for sizing where they get shaved down to exact measurements. The metalic dust is recycled and used again. Finally they’re coated, dried and moved for transfer to the cities or painted for commemorative manhole covers. Nagashima Imono makes manhole covers that go all over the country. The colors on these are important to fire fighters to find underground hydrants. The symbol for water, mizu (水) is in the middle. Painting a manhole is like paint by numbers. You have to mix the colors to get the right shade. Here’s a manhole from Shiroishi City in Miyagi Prefecture Shiroishi Casle was founded in the 14th century demolished in 1875 then rebuilt in 1995 now a symbol of pride for the city. The blue pain will become the sky. It’s important for the manhole to be painted perfectly. One mistake and it has to be redone. It takes 24 hours for the paint to dry. Newer manhole covers may have a lovely plastic printed finished but to me, the painted commemorative manhole covers are just simply more stunning. They’re also pretty heavy! They can weight as much as 50kg. I tried to pick one up. They’re really heavy! It’s about 50kg per — manhole cover Arhhhhh! HAHA! MANHOLE! — HOLER! They’re also important property of a Japanese municipality so take care! Nagashima Imono has been making manhole covers since 1945. I asked him how they got into this business. As a recovery from the war, assuming the government will improve the sewage system, our company moved into the manhole business. It was though to be a low level industry so it was rumoured to be easy for new companies to join I can see that. Sewers are a dirty place so — if the manhole cover is pretty — it’s sort of better. Right. The image of the industry is improved by it. Once considered the lowest form of art Japanese manhole designs are booming Art collectors everywhere take notice canvas is nice, but metal is forever whereever there are underground pipes there will be manhole covers When you come to Japan, don’t just look up at those bright neon signs. Look down! You might just discover a work of art And something that is truly — ONLY in JAPAN :) NEXT TIME: I travel to Aomori Airport where they’ve never had a snow delay The crew is called WHITE IMPULSE and they remove the snow from the runway like a machine ballet If you liked it, hit that SUBSCRIBE BUTTON and watching another one of ONLY in JAPAN’s shows. See you next time — mata ne~
