Can anything be worth money? Many people in Japan have a new hobby: spotting and collecting manhole covers, while towns and cities compete to produce the best designs.
X
Next
How manhole covers became the latest craze
Can anything be worth money? Many people in Japan have a new hobby: spotting and collecting manhole covers, while towns and cities compete to produce the best designs.
X
PreviousNext
What's happening?
Hiroko walks down the street with her eyes fixed on the pavement. What does her friend's town have to offer in the way of manholeAn opening on a street to allow workers to access sewers and other important things under the road. covers?
There is one with a picture of a fish, one with flowers, and - yes! - even one with a Pokemon figure. She must put it on Instagram!
Hiroko is one of the thousands of people in JapanAn island country in East Asia, with a population of nearly 126 million. known as "manholers". They travel across the country to take pictures of manhole covers.
They collect items too, like key rings with pictures of manholes on them. They even meet for "manhole nights" to talk about their hobbySomething you do in your spare time to have fun. .
Find out more
One manholer, Hidetoshi Ishii, has cycled to more than 1,700 towns and cities to look at manholes. He has written a book called Manholes of Japan: What Manholes Have Taught Me.
Now, the city of KyotoKyoto, once the capital of Japan, is a city on the island of Honshu. The Kyoto Protocol was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. is selling their old covers for £30 each. So many people want to buy them they have had to set up a lottery system!
The pretty designs began in the 1980s, when Japan needed new sewers. Officials thought people would agree to the project if they liked the covers.
Today 95% of areas in Japan have their own special designs. The Tama district of TokyoJapan's capital city. has Hello Kitty covers.
X
Previous
Can anything be worth money?
Yes! Anything can be worth money if lots of people want to buy it. In the NetherlandsA country in northwestern Europe. Netherland means low-lying country. More than one fourth of the country is below sea level., people once paid huge amounts for tulip bulbs when the flowers suddenly became very popular.
No! You cannot put a price on some of the most important things in life, like love and friendship.
Keywords
Manhole - An opening on a street to allow workers to access sewers and other important things under the road.
Japan - An island country in East Asia, with a population of nearly 126 million.
Hobby - Something you do in your spare time to have fun.
Kyoto - Kyoto, once the capital of Japan, is a city on the island of Honshu. The Kyoto Protocol was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Tokyo - Japan's capital city.
Netherlands - A country in northwestern Europe. Netherland means low-lying country. More than one fourth of the country is below sea level.
How manhole covers became the latest craze
Covering costs: Tokyo has paid for 487,805 decorated covers for water and sewage works. Glossary
Manhole - An opening on a street to allow workers to access sewers and other important things under the road.
Japan - An island country in East Asia, with a population of nearly 126 million.
Hobby - Something you do in your spare time to have fun.
Kyoto - Kyoto, once the capital of Japan, is a city on the island of Honshu. The Kyoto Protocol was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Tokyo - Japan's capital city.
Netherlands - A country in northwestern Europe. Netherland means low-lying country. More than one fourth of the country is below sea level.