Pokemon is ever popular in Japan, so much that cities install special manhole covers called “Poke-Lids” portraying pokemon that represent them.
This time around, it’s time for the city of Ojiya in the central prefecture of Niigata to get its own fancy manholes, and it’s the underrated Magikarp to get its turn under the spotlight.
Four different Poke-Lids featuring the clumsy but adorable fish-pokemon have been installed in Ojiya, which is known as the birthplace of the Nishikigoi variety of Koi carps. This is even more appropriate if you think that Magikarp is basically a big, goofy Koi and is known as Koiking in Japan.
You can check out what they look like in the gallery below.
Each Poke-lid is one-of-a-kind, sporting its own original design that doesn’t appear anywhere else. Of course, this comes with the benefit of encouraging many fans to visit local communities to snap a collectible pictures, boosting tourism and business.
The trend started with the installation of the first Poke-lid portraying Eevee in Ibusuki, Kagoshima prefecture, back in December 2018. As of now, 143 of the colorful manholes have been installed in twelve prefectures including the four mentioned here.
If you want to see more, you can check out those installed in Tottori prefecture featuring Sandshrew and Sandslash, the lids portraying Chansey in Fukushima prefecture, and the previous batch in Hokkaido, featuring Vulpix.
