#fukkachan
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#fukkachan#yumechan#kawaiicore#kawaii#macaw aesthetic#kidcore#rainbowcore#sunny#cute#green#yellow#mascots
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In Japan’s glittering cities, all hustle and light, they can be easy to miss.
With all that sensory assault, who thinks to look down and take notice of something as mundane as a manhole cover? But these are no ordinary bits of civic infrastructure.
In Japan, many manhole covers are works of urban art—elaborate, curious, distinctive, even colorful.
They have become a tourist destination unto themselves and attract a legion of dedicated manhole enthusiasts who travel the country to visit some of the thousands of unique designs.
Japan’s decorated manhole covers—broadly encompassing storm drain, domestic water supply, electrical and other utility access covers—initially took shape as a public relations campaign for sewers.
Beginning in the 1950s, the cast plates featured simple geometric patterns, such as the “Tokyo” and “Nagoya” designs.
Japanese civil servant Yasutake Kameda conceived of the intricate, artistic versions in 1985 to help warm a skeptical rural population to the idea of the costly but necessary modernization of the country’s sewer system.
From these humble and practical beginnings, manhole covers have become a cultural phenomenon.
Typically, “local manholes” or “design manholes” feature elements special to a particular location: a town emblem, landmark, event, or official bird or flower.
For instance, Takasaki, 60 miles northwest of Tokyo in mountainous Gunma Prefecture, has manhole covers that commemorate the city’s popular summer fireworks festival.
Local mascots (known as yurukyara, such as Fukaya City’s adorable rabbit-deer Fukkachan) and cartoon characters also appear.
In Tokyo’s Tama ward, home of the Sanrio Puroland amusement park, one can find covers featuring the ever-popular Hello Kitty.
Local sports franchises are also represented near the teams’ home arenas and stadiums—such as the well-known colorful depiction of the logo of the Hiroshima Carp baseball team.
While there is some logic to the placement of the covers, particularly those graced with color—usually near a landmark, theme park, or stadium—others appear to have been placed without rhyme or reason.
Indeed, it is not unusual to walk down an otherwise unremarkable side street and spot a special one underfoot.
The ornate manhole covers are initially carved from aluminum, which is used to make sand molds for casting.
The majority of the designs are selected by local municipalities, in conjunction with manufacturers.
In most cases, the design is just imprinted in the cover, but in some cases, the covers get another touch—colored resins flooded into voids like enamel on jewelry.
Today, an estimated 95 percent of Japan’s 1,718 municipalities across all 47 prefectures now host their own unique covers.
In Osaka, approximately 10 percent of the city’s 180,000 manhole covers feature ornate designs, of which roughly 1,900 get the color treatment.
Typically, a designed manhole cover, which weighs more than 80 pounds, excluding the frame, costs approximately $585—a five percent premium over the cost of a plain cover.
The color, however, is applied carefully by hand and nearly doubles the price of a manhole to more than $900.
Such is the popularity of these little urban treasures that they have a devout, organized following.
There is the industry-led Japan Ground Manhole Association and the fan-based Japanese Society of Manhole Covers, whose website features thousands of photographs submitted by users across Japan, who have snapped everything from large sewer covers to tiny local utility access panels.
“Manholers,” as they’re known, may travel to distant areas of the country just to photograph covers or collect pencil rubbings known as takuhon.
Trading cards featuring manhole designs are also popular collectors’ items and can command steep prices in online auctions.
One prominent fan is Kei Takebuchi, a popular Tokyo-based singer-songwriter.
Takebuchi traces her fascination with them to the covers of Nagoya, which feature a charming cartoon water strider insect, while she was on tour in 2015.
Since then, she has regularly tweeted photos of manhole covers to her nearly 200,000 followers on social media.
“Every manhole cover design has [a meaning] … it tells me that we can create art with almost anything,” she says, in an interview for this story.
Like many places, Japan is full of people with unusual hobbies or obsessions, but love for the country’s manhole covers has gone mainstream:
a “manhole festival” was held near a major train station in Tokyo last month, featuring trading cards, baked goods, and replica covers from around the country.
Retailer Tokyu Hands ran an extended campaign at its central Shinjuku location, with a range of manhole cover–related goods for sale.
The affinity for manhole covers also seems to tap in to Japan’s fondness for hobbies that involve lots of domestic travel.
Stamp rallies—featuring rubber stamps at train stations and other landmarks—encourage hobbyists to travel to overlooked or lesser-visited locales to add one more stamp to their collections.
“Rail-fans” similarly scour the country to document or experience a rare train carriage, an unusual station melody, or other rail-related minutia.
It is the same for manholers, with the occasionally far-flung or seemingly random placement of coveted covers—and directions of varying accuracy—adding to the sense of a scavenger hunt.
Indeed, Takebuchi recounts once spending three hours on a bitterly cold day in Kawagoe City in Saitama Prefecture to snap a photo of a particular manhole cover, beautifully designed with an images of Toki no Kane, a historic bell tower.
Similar stories are common currency in manholing circles.
Easy to overlook, but curious and rewarding, Japan’s unique manhole covers are a charming reminder that the mundane can be exciting and that you should never forget to look down.
#Japan#manhole covers#Yasutake Kamed#local manholes#design manholes#Japan Ground Manhole Association#Japanese Society of Manhole Covers#manholers#Kei Takebuchi#manhole festival#Tokyu Hands
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Nine people you would like to get to know better
Thanks @reicchel for the tag!! 💙
Three ships:
You know what you're here for. CASPAR x LINHARDT (FE3H).
Caspar x Ashe (FE3H). Bonus when it's a polycule with Linhardt, and I gotta say that here so that I don't just take up all three lists with these three. My partners and I compare them to each other a lot. 💕
Ike x Soren (Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn).
First ship ever: Mario x Peach. No, I'm not joking. Paper Mario really strengthened that for me when I played it as a kid. I never sought out fics for them, but I loved seeing cute art of them. I was never a heavy shipper, in any case, until after my college years.
Last song: What Was I Made For? By Billie Eilish. My partner sent me this song and told me "think about Caspar with this song" and it just about broke me, thanks!
Last movie: At theaters, it was Across The Spider-verse. At home, it was Laputa: Castle in the Sky. Both amazing movies!
Currently reading: Literally the only thing I read these days are casphardt fanfics because I'm constantly starved for content. In fact, I read this one this morning!
Currently watching: I'm showing our partner Dragonball Z: Abridged, so we're all rewatching that. And now they're obsessed with Vegeta. That makes me SO happy.
Currently consuming: I just made rice and roasted chicken, something simple!
Currently craving: Nothing, since I just ate... but I do miss the mochi donuts we had when we visited our partner in Chicago. Also boba.
I'll tag: @layzeal, @charlesworthy, @gghero, @problematiqve, @fukkachans, @splawning-orwhatever, @scarapilled, @saringold, @fullbrave
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this cryptid is currently in pain and needs distraction so I am answering asks I received back in late February and so forth! haha sorry,,,
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do you ship anyone in engage?
not very strongly in the romantic aspect,,, I do appreciate Boucheron/Kagetsu and Merrin/Chloé,, they're so cute together,,
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your drawings are so cute! :3 do you plan on drawing Ivy? she's my favorite <3
thank you!!! I'm taking a smol break right now and she is actually next on my list to draw! really funny how you asked this because I've been trying to figure out what to draw for her OAIJETOEJAOtj but I adore her! she makes me miss studying too,, but education system is poopie in hell,,, I am trying to draw every playable character in engage unless my brain decides to not cooperate with me like it is right now CRIES
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Hi Nana! You said you are evil, but your drawings show a lot of kindness in them. I think that's funny.
my drawings are just a ruse to lead you to think I am nice and pure-hearted but I am truly the evilest and corrupted,,, *Owain voice*: MY DARKNESS IS DARKER THAN YOURS!
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What are these "bad potty humor shitposts" you speak of? I don't think I saw any last year.
oh shit you're right I didn't draw one last year,, depending on my schedule and brainworms I might do two but hahaha uh,, I do not promise anything,, my energy for potty humor usually just goes into words that I curse my friends with,,, but I guess whenever I'm ready I may do a poll because I have an idea on who to draw for this oajtoeajtoe
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how much should i pay you to draw one little caspar cat with his head stuck in bread
since this is possibly(?!) a smol request,, $3 with optional tip to my ko-fi,,, I would be happy to draw the little blue meowmeow stuck in a baguette even
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ナナさんこんに��は！落書きはとても可愛いですね 😊
ありがとうございました！
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main blog?
fukkachans,,, I just reblog stuff I like on there though,,, I don't go off the shits in text posts as much as I used to years ago because I am old and just want a quiet life,,
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ok I have like 14 asks left to answer here but I am sleepy,, sorry,, I will reply when I am not feeling like a sloth,, I go back to my cave! thank you for your continuous support *raspberry noises*
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🍡
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おは、、、
今日は二度寝っ❤️Y(o˘ω˘o)Y
#寝正月も悪くない
Morni...
Sleeping in today❤️ Y(o˘ω˘o)Y
#LazyNewYearsArentSoBad
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Today I got my first new year's postcard reply of the year - from Fukkachan!
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trust my dual leeks
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AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA THANK YOU @tochisuke
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【ゆるキャラ】ふっかちゃん（埼玉県深谷市）
2011年11月撮影
“Fukka-chan“ Fukaya city in Saitama.
Fukka-chan’s Twitter https://twitter.com/fukkachan
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@firebirdsdaughter this is Fukkachan:
Okada and Fumiya were associated with music and kitchen knifes. Not sure about Nakagawa, but he was easier to guess. Sunagawa though...
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ok so me and @rantarouamamis made a japanese mascot political allignment
in order:
barysan - president
sanomaru - vice president
yachinyan - defense secretary
tochisuke - state secretary
pikachu, kakitan, fukkachan, shinjoukun and chiitan - senate
#tochisuke#yachinyan#pikachu#kakitan#chiitan#barysan#sanomaru#shinjoukun#japan mascots#political allignment
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you groan as youve been assigned mascot duty. it always seemed so humiliating. before you climb into the surprisingly large suit, you take a sec to blush at its overly large feet. seems like a pain to walk in... once inside, it doesnt feel like any costume youve worn before. it's soft.. almost like youre not wearing it, just inside it. your limbs dont even reach the hands and feet. then, you hear a giggle! and the suit stars walking on its own...!
❗❗ aahhhh im just imagining being trapped in the soft and massive bulk of the suit as youre completely in the dark, just surrounded by softness as you hear a muffled voice say silly catchphrases. and since you cant see, u have to guess what kind of strange antics that ur captor/prison is up to on the outside. its so comfortable though... almost like its giving you a back massage??
it would be so nice to get away from it all in there.... being trapped in a situation like that is one of my favorite escapist fantasies. it can apply to many scenarios, like going to a convention in your new suit- oops, its alive! or a job that involves being a mascot, or a stage play with an overly eccentric actor mascot suit who is perfect for the role (and you arent).
i also like to think of energy-sapping suits, that steal your energy or heat to be able to move around. i prefer especially bulky and inconvenient suits that limit your range of motion, such as Fukkachan, or this maplestory mushroom thingy. they just seem so comfy!!!!!
mushroom thingy in question except imagine bigger feet
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おはよ♪
台風一過の影響かな～、38℃まで気温が上昇しちゃうよY(o°ω°o)Y
ふっかちゃんのように暑さ対策しっかりしてね☆
今日もよろしくおねぎしまぁすY(o0ω0o)Y
#麦わらのふっか
#ゴムゴムのふっか
Morning♪
I wonder if it’s from the post-typhoon sun... the temperature has climbed all the way to 38°C! Y(o°ω°o)Y Be sure to take proper measures against the heat like Fukkachan has, won’t you? ☆
Hopeful-leek you’re having a good day! Y(o0ω0o)Y
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Fukkachan (ふっかちゃん, from Fukaya, Saitama) posing by their car in their award-winning kimono.
At the World Character Summit in Hanyū, 2018.11.24~25
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