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Pokémon manhole covers are taking over streets in Japan!

Oona McGee Aug 1, 2019
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Pikachu and Geodude are just some of the new Pocket Monsters owning the roads with gorgeous one-of-a-kind designs.

In December last year, beloved Pocket Monster Eevee began appearing on manhole covers in Ibusuki, Kagoshima Prefecture, in an effort to help promote the city that sounds similar to “Eevee” in Japanese, thanks to its three first letters.

Since then, Eevee and its Eeveelutions have been spawning on manhole covers around Ibusuki, attracting tourists from around the country. The overwhelmingly positive response from the public means that other pocket monsters are now being prepped for their own debuts, starting with some of the rock/ground Pokémon, which can now be found in Iwate Prefecture.

▼ Rhydon popped up in Ofunato City yesterday.

昨日から盛駅前に設置されたポケモンマンホール蓋がこちら。
しっかり“おおふなと”の文字ものっています(ひっそりイシツブテさんのシルエットも隠れていますね)。
近くにお越しの際は大船渡市の旅の記念のひとつとしてカメラにおさめてはいかがでしょうか？📸#岩手県大船渡市 https://t.co/Mhe4JMf9DS pic.twitter.com/NT8Y964BUm

— 大船渡市観光物産協会 (@OofunatoKBK) July 31, 2019

Bug/Rock Pokémon Shuckle has been spotted at Otsuchi, one of the towns in Iwate that was hit hard by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.

✨#ポケモンマンホール in いわて、#大槌町登場‼️

25日(木)から、#大槌駅前にツボツボマンホールが登場！
8月1日には、本プロジェクト事業「#さんりく音楽祭2019＜佐渡裕さん＆スーパーキッズオーケストラ＞」が #おしゃっちにやってきます(^▽^)♪
ぜひお越しください！https://t.co/AZ5vrXHVcM pic.twitter.com/ePtegih2tb

— 三陸防災復興プロジェクト (@sanriku_project) July 31, 2019

The name Iwate combines the words for stone (岩, “iwa”), and hands (手, “te”), which is the reason why it’s been chosen as the home of the rock/ground Pokémon, with Geodude proudly raising his fists as tourism ambassador for the prefecture.

「岩手県✕ポケモン」
イシツブテ#岩手県 #iiiwate #ポケモン #マンホール #ポケモンマンホール pic.twitter.com/8RyaNSxuvq

— まいまい 𖧷 (@kapupura) July 30, 2019

Other pocket monsters waiting to be discovered in Iwate include Onix, Shieldon, Kabuto, Tyrunt, Aron, and Omanyte.

🏉そばっち出番なかったよ…
今日はお客さんいーーっぱいで白熱の試合展開にスタジアムは大興奮だったよ‼︎ワールドカップが待ち遠しいなぁ〜
あ！そうそう！そばっち鵜住居駅でこんなのも見つけたよ！#ポケモンマンホール #ココドラゲットだぜ！ pic.twitter.com/Ahn6RRuAkU

— いわての旅@岩手県観光協会 (@iwatetabi_info) July 27, 2019

✨#ポケモンマンホール in いわて、#普代村登場‼️

22日(月)から、#普代駅前にタテトプスマンホールが登場！
今月28日は、月に一度の『ビーチヨガ』が #普代浜園地キラウミにて開催されますので、併せて参加してみるのもおススメです♪
⇒https://t.co/5OwODrZRHF
⇒https://t.co/y3HYdZAkjy pic.twitter.com/2nOPjy3JDI

— 三陸防災復興プロジェクト (@sanriku_project) July 24, 2019

▼ Just some of the “Poké lids” you can find on the streets of Japan right now.

While these gorgeous designs are enough to get any Pokémon fan booking a trip to Japan right now, the biggest reveal is yet to come, with the announcement that Pikachu manhole covers will soon be appearing in Yokohama City, in Tokyo’s neighbouring Kanagawa Prefecture.

As the home of the annual Pikachu outbreak, the city of Yokohama is the perfect location for these gorgeous new Poké lids. The two-Pikachu design can be found outside Sakuragicho Station from 5 August, while the remaining four designs – each adorned with two letters from the name “Yokohama” – will be located around the Minato Mirai area for a limited time, from 5 August until 1 September.

Adding to the fun is the fact that all the new Poké lids appearing around Japan are also Pokémon GO poke stops, so there’s a chance you might just get to see your favourite Pokémon standing beside its very own real-world manhole cover in the game.

Plans are currently underway to expand the reach of the Pokémon manhole covers to other areas around Japan, with Hokkaido, Fukushima, Tottori, and Kagawa Prefectures set to be graced with new designs in the near future. The initiative, being dubbed “Pokémon Local Acts“, aims to encourage travellers to venture out to some of the country’s more rural destinations, particularly those that have been hard hit by disasters in recent years.

The Pokémon Company, which is responsible for the project, says each manhole design is unique, with only one in existence in the world.

To find out more about the project, including the exact location of the manhole covers, check out the official website here.

Which Pokémon would you like to see on a manhole cover? If you’re having trouble deciding, you might want to take the “What Pokémon are you?” personality quiz and let us know in the comments section below!

Source: PR Times
Featured image: Twitter/@kapupura YouTube/株式会社シャイン
Insert images: PR Times
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