In The UK,

and I guess many other places in the world,

we take them for granted, manhole covers, if we can still call them that in this PC age, but in Japan they are objects art and delight, and here they are being made,

as it happens we have featured them a few times before, 

in April 2017, and August 2020,

and in both December 2018 and January 2019, we made mention of small models of them them being used as toys,

but back to the real sized covers,

this post is about how they are made, but why? back in the mid-1980s municipalities were invited to design their own manhole covers, following a handful of local contests by photographers and publications the trend rapidly spread, 

this is a 2 mug of coffee video as video creators Process X visits the Hinode factory to film the process of manufacture, workers first melt metal and stamp the molten material into a form that produces a distinctive raised outline, colours are added and baked to finish the product, it would be would be a nice touch to see street furniture like this in the UK, but I doubt any of them would see daybreak in the morning, if you see what I mean! if you enjoy watching things like this being made, Process X documents a wide range of manufacturing systems around Japan and publishes videos regularly on YouTube.