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“Manhole Cards,” Japan’s new collectible card game craze features artistic sewer covers

Scott Wilson Apr 10, 2017
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Gotta catch, er, flush ’em all!

Japan may be well known for its beautiful shrines, temples, and castles, but that’s not all it has. One thing that doesn’t get nearly the amount of international attention that it deserves are the gorgeous manhole covers that can be found in the streets and sidewalks all over the country.

▼ Just look at the colors on this manhole cover from Oarai in
Ibaraki Prefecture. Really makes what lies underneath a lot more pleasant.

大洗の彩色マンホール蓋 pic.twitter.com/tLxYcacvH6

— いにゃゆう (@biophychemistry) April 8, 2017

But it seems that Japan’s manhole covers won’t stay unknown for much longer. Last year in April, the organization GKP – Gesui Koho Purattohomu (“Sewer System PR Platform”) released its first set of Manhole Cards.

And now, one year later, the popularity of the cards have exploded. They’re releasing their fourth set this month, making for a total of 170 unique Manhole Cards from 145 locations in Japan, and collectors can’t get enough of them.

▼ The front and back of one card from Wakanai, Hokkaido. The front has a picture of the manhole and its coordinates, and the back explains its design.

本日から配布が始まった稚内市のマンホールカードを頂いてきました(^^) pic.twitter.com/Wvt65uY6dw

— ほっかいどうのミィ助🐈 (@wish_0620) April 3, 2017

▼ One fan showing of their collection that,
up until recently, was complete at 120 cards…

3/28に山形県天童市と宮城県涌谷町を訪問し #マンホールカード第一弾30枚、第二弾44枚、第三弾46枚、120枚すべて揃いました。座標の #マンホールふたも撮影。3月中に達成できてうれしいです。　#manhotalk pic.twitter.com/Uy07IZzkju

— たいちょお (@taichoo2) March 28, 2017

▼ …but now, with the addition of the new
fourth set pictured here, they have some work to do!

ついに！マンホールカード【第4第】の入稿が完了しました✨今回も素敵なカードが多いです✨お楽しみに♪プレスリリースは3月中旬予定です✨チラシなどもリニューアル予定です！#マンホール #マンホールサミット #マンホールカード #マンホーラー #manhole #メカトロウィーゴ pic.twitter.com/WxNbwWxj8u

— 山田秀人ご当地カードプロデューサー (@Hideto_Yamada) February 25, 2017

▼ Some more cards from the new set, including the Fukui
Dinosaur in the center, and Yamaguchi Sakura Train right above it.

いょいょ4月３日！マンホールカード【第4弾】配布開始✨現物チェックしましたが、とっても良いデキです♪実際に手に取って好きになってくださる方も沢山いますので是非✨先行配布情報等は別途します♪#マンホール #マンホールサミット #マンホールカード #マンホーラー #蓋旅行こうゼ！ pic.twitter.com/gOLx08uuGG

— 山田秀人ご当地カードプロデューサー (@Hideto_Yamada) March 26, 2017

▼ Fans have fun tracking down their favorite cards,
then snapping photos of themselves at the original manhole locations.

やったぁぁぁヽ(*´∀｀*)ﾉ
やっとお目にかかれた！！
念願の #マンホールカードゲット〜↗️
ご丁寧にカラーマンホールマップまでいただきましたので現地に赴いてみる。
…まずい！八王子に行くの間に合わなくなる！！#マンホール #羽村市 pic.twitter.com/sjLlZxUQXj

— ぴろみん (@katekochan) February 14, 2017

▼ To get the cards, manhole-aficionados visit the local
sewer/waterworks organizations for different cities and towns.

今日の埼玉県の朝日新聞夕刊に
ミッシェール登場します！

「ハマるマンホールカード」
埼玉にお住い、または働いている
皆さま、読んでいただけましたら
幸いです！
この日は、朝日新聞の記者さんと
1日所沢でマンホール・ハンティングとマンホール・カードをもらいに行く旅をしました！ pic.twitter.com/tlKbrq3pye

— 山本ミッシェール・バイリンガルアナウンサー (@michelle_yama) April 6, 2017

While having people travel over the country to obtain the cards may seem strange at first, Japan has a long history of stamp rallies and other collectible-events where you have to go all over to different locations in order to get them all.

GKP, the organization that makes the Manhole Cards, has said that their goal in producing them was to “wipe away the image that people have of manholes being dirty, smelly, and ugly.”

▼ And with some rare cards on Yahoo! auctions going
for over 10,000 yen (US$90), I’d say they’ve succeeded.

Yahoo! Auctions

▼ GKP has even gone so far as to promote the term “manholer” as a word
for fans of manholes and Manhole Cards to call themselves.

今夜のタモリ倶楽部は『その蓋にも歴史ありマンホーラーになろう』…タイトルだけで感動✨レジェンドマンホーラーがレアな蓋の多い渋谷を散策する企画とのこと！今夜はタモリ倶楽部で、今日から君もマンホーラー♪#マンホール #マンホールサミット #マンホールカード #マンホーラー pic.twitter.com/M7JDLsgcIn

— 山田秀人ご当地カードプロデューサー (@Hideto_Yamada) February 16, 2017

▼ And if you want to be a “maholer” but can’t read Japanese, they’ve recently released English versions. Though a true collector needs both languages, of course….

【茨城県つくば市】のマンホールカードに新バリエーション【英語版】が４月１日から登場します✨カッコ良いです♪配布場所は通常版と同じです✨是非♪https://t.co/rml9JzbZwD #マンホール #マンホールサミット #マンホールカード #マンホーラー #manhole pic.twitter.com/OBhPfzTPOo

— 山田秀人ご当地カードプロデューサー (@Hideto_Yamada) March 15, 2017

While we don’t see ourselves dropping thousands of yen to get rare Manhole Cards (of course, we say that now…), we do have to say it adds a bit of fun to traveling around Japan, knowing that each new area we visit could potentially get us a new card with coordinates to follow to a beautiful piece of sewer artwork.

If you can’t wait to become a “manholer” either, then check out the official Manhole Cards website. They don’t have an English page just yet, but with the recent release of English cards, we have to imagine that will change soon. And until then, we can all just enjoy some delicious chocolate manholes instead.

Source: Gesui Koho Purattofomu via Asahi Shimbun
Featured image: Twitter/@FrancescoYamasa