Why do some of the manhole covers have English, not Japanese, text on them?
Pocari Sweat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pocari_Sweat
Japan’s elaborate, colorful manhole covers
61–70 of 81 posts
Re: Japan’s elaborate, colorful manhole covers
#62Earlier quoted context omitted.
While it occasionally happens, in Japan they still have a sense of civic responsibility. They wouldn't do that. There's also the fact that you could (statistically) also forget your Macbook Pro in a crowded public park in Tokyo and come back 2 hours later to find it there untouched (and unstolen).
Wow. Was this ever (anecdotally) tested?
Never heard about the laptop. But general rule is - not yours don't touch. Except for a bike and umbrellas. I know people who lost wallet, phone, I lost phone twice and few smaller things, ex. new pair of shoes in the train... Always returned or ready for me to pickup. Leaving your personal belongings on the table in crowded café is a norm. After some time you don't even get a thrill when loosing something.. "Come on, it's Japan, obviously you'll be able to find it." Unfortunately, coming back to the reality of the West is harsh. Not only WRT safety...
Re: Japan’s elaborate, colorful manhole covers
#63Fun fact: they sometimes make them with celebrities, which happen to be cause public outrage later in their career, causing issues with what to do with the manholes. Recently Pierre Taki was arrested for Cocaine, and the manhole with him on it is in an interesting debate, the town is thinking about covering it: https://news.nicovideo.jp/watch/nw4980896
> with celebrities, which happen to be cause public outrage later in their career, That's the funny thing about Japan. Regarding outrage and celebrities. I have seen that over and over in the past 10 years, it goes like that (not talking about manholes here): - Celebrity X is super popular and well loved - Celebrity X gets into trouble for something that is frowned upon in society. - Mass media rush to eat Celebrity…
Genuine question, can you elaborate on why you feel that such cycles are nonsensical? Cuz for me I just think that the celeb "paid their dues" by not receiving compensation/exposure for some time (like a prison sentence in the public eye), and if the misendeavor is minor enough they can be reaccepted.
Re: Japan’s elaborate, colorful manhole covers
#64Earlier quoted context omitted.
> with celebrities, which happen to be cause public outrage later in their career, That's the funny thing about Japan. Regarding outrage and celebrities. I have seen that over and over in the past 10 years, it goes like that (not talking about manholes here): - Celebrity X is super popular and well loved - Celebrity X gets into trouble for something that is frowned upon in society. - Mass media rush to eat Celebrity…
Genuine question, can you elaborate on why you feel that such cycles are nonsensical? Cuz for me I just think that the celeb "paid their dues" by not receiving compensation/exposure for some time (like a prison sentence in the public eye), and if the misendeavor is minor enough they can be reaccepted.
Can't speak for people who actually care about celebrities, but the predictability and insincerity of this manufactured cycle would definitely bug me personally.
Re: Japan’s elaborate, colorful manhole covers
#65Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, this is very true and I think hints at the reason why those manhole covers can exist in Japan, whereas they'd be unthinkable in North America. The notion would be laughed out of any city budget here.
Doesn't necessarily take much of a budget to do these sorts if things. I've seen this for example in towns where the traffic light control boxes are colorfully painted by local artists.
> I've seen this for example in towns where the traffic light control boxes are colorfully painted by local artists.
Lol Graffiti Artists.
Re: Japan’s elaborate, colorful manhole covers
#66The man with those half inch thick gloves, you bet that paint isn’t coming off for years if it touched you.
Re: Japan’s elaborate, colorful manhole covers
#67I remember this was one thing that really made an impact on me about Japan when I went there as an exchange student. "Even their manholes are thoroughly done and look amazing! What is even going on!?" They can still make me smile every now and again when I visit, and I really admire the "Japanese sense of" (I don't know if it's particular to Japan) putting lots of effort into something seemingly mundane; putting effo…
> ... putting effort into something which yields no practical return on investment
That can be applied to the Sydney Opera House, though on a slightly different scale.
I've started making the trip by ferry to Circular Quay to have a coffee at a cafe by the water. The Opera House an amazing building and I marvel at the political will required to get it started (and finished). It took 14 years to complete and went 14 times over budget. It had a lottery created to pay for it!
The nearby Harbour Bridge is another construction that went further than was necessary at the time. Both are spectacular.
Re: Japan’s elaborate, colorful manhole covers
#68Earlier quoted context omitted.
Doesn't necessarily take much of a budget to do these sorts if things. I've seen this for example in towns where the traffic light control boxes are colorfully painted by local artists.
> I've seen this for example in towns where the traffic light control boxes are colorfully painted by local artists. Lol Graffiti Artists.
Not at all. Here in Brisbane (the AU one) the city council got local artists to do them as works showcasing our city's lifestyle. There's hundreds of different works of art around the place, and they run the gamut from a graffiti-style work to more traditional pieces. It really does help jazz up an otherwise pretty boring piece of infrastructure.
Re: Japan’s elaborate, colorful manhole covers
#691. How durable is the paint? When it wears away do they repaint? 2. I could see US cities doing this, except they would probably use the space for advertising. This would be annoying.
From article:
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
It's more like slabs of plastic (you can see the thickness in the first picture), which won't easily wear away, but I suspect if/when it does, they get redone.
Re: Japan’s elaborate, colorful manhole covers
#70Oh Japan! When I was first visiting Japan, I asked an architect friend of mine who had lived in Japan: what should I see? His response: see how much attention to detail has been paid to even some of the most mundane things. At first I was, WTF. I was looking for recommendations about places to see. But when I got there, his advice made total sense. I was not disappointed.
> His response: see how much attention to detail has been paid to even some of the most mundane things. Counter example, about every residential building is so damn ugly, so I am not sure where the attention to details has gone there. I could go on on how poorly designed work offices are, how poorly designed the furniture is in general (enabling IKEA to actually have a market here), and that's enough to refute that k…
I think it really depends on what you are looking for. Older Japanese homes are, though often "run down", very nice in my opinion. More modern residences have turned towards a manufactured feeling unfortunately but when you take into consideration the constraints of possible earthquake and expense of land it is rather impressive how residences are arranged. The technical challenges, which go unseen, are not simple I would imagine. The boxlike look is, I think, probably driven by land value.
Furniture in Japan is often practical and low to the ground which might not appeal to some people. People used to spend their time exclusively sitting on the floor of their homes. I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of Japanese still do.