Characters from the popular manga series "Chihayafuru" and the 2019 Rugby World Cup's mascot appear in several spots in Fuchu, Tokyo, as manhole cover art.
The Fuchu municipal government recently created 13 manhole covers adorned with 11 different designs featuring the characters and plans to install them throughout the city.
"Chihayafuru" is popular manga series about devotees of the competitive card game karuta and was made into both an animation and a live-action film. The story features some real-life places in the city, such as the Katamachi culture center where the main character Chihaya Ayase practices the game with others.
The manhole covers are placed in such places as the Shimogawararyokudo path and Keyaki-namiki Dori street, while the new special design drawn by "Chihayafuru" author Yuki Suetsugu for the manhole cover project, is on display at the center.
Last year, Fuchu hosted Rugby World Cup training camps for South Africa, the winner of the tournament, as well as England and France. In commemoration, the manhole covers that depict the RWC official mascot Ren-G are installed at two locations near the site of the camp in the city's Asahicho district.
Some of the new manhole covers also feature the city's mascot character, Fuchukoma, riding a bicycle. They are placed at two locations near the starting point of the cycling road racecourse for the Tokyo Olympics.
According to the municipal government, the production costs of about 10 million yen will be covered by subsidies from the Tokyo metropolitan government.
The Fuchu tourist association has created four key chains with designs matching the "Chihayafuru" manhole covers, which will be on sale from April 1 for 500 yen each, including tax.
The city government has also printed 10,000 copies of the leaflet that introduces the locations of the new manhole covers.
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