Can’t make a pilgrimage to see your favorite Pokémon? You can now enjoy Pokéfuta in the comfort of your own home.
Pokémon is extremely varied, as far as multi-media franchises go. It’s not only a video game and anime series, but a manhole cover one too.
Through the Pokéfuta project, colorful manhole covers decorated with Pokémon characters have been installed at select locations in a number of towns across Japan. Often found in less-traveled areas of the country, they help brighten the days of locals and bring in visitors who might have otherwise overlooked the destination.
Of course, these days there’s not a whole lot of traveling going on, so now it’s time for the Pokémon manholes to make their way to fans’ homes instead.
Novelty goods chain Village Vanguard is offering a line of Pokéfuta merchandise, with the prestige items being miniature metal replicas of six of the manhole covers: the Pikachu couple cover from Yokohama, Miyako’s Geodude, Takamatsu’s Slowpoke, Ibusuk’s Eevee, Sendai’s Lapras, and Wakkanai’s Alola Vulpix and Ninetales. Each is nine centimeters (3.5 inches) in diameter and priced at 6,600 yen (US$62).
If you’re looking for something more affordably priced, and also practical, though, the Pokéfuta coffee mugs are the way to go.
The mug itself features the manhole cover design in monochrome as well as a map showing the Japanese prefecture and town where the actual cover is installed. You also get a rubber cover, which should also work as a coaster.
▼ The mug/cover sets are all 1,980 yen.
But as Pokéfuta scholars know, each Pokémon species in the project has multiple manhole cover designs scattered about their representative parts of Japan. For those seeking maximum variety, there’s an array of rubber key chains featuring the complete Pokéfuta lineups for Kagawa Prefecture’s Slowpoke, Kagoshima’s Eevee evolution family, Hokkaido’s Vulpix, Miyagi’s Lapras, and Iwate’s Geodude.
▼ Each keychain is priced at 715 yen, and while you can choose the prefecture you want, the exact Pokémon you’ll encounter is random, just like in early installments of the games.
The entire line of Pokéfuta merch is available through Village Vanguard’s online shop here.
Source, images: Village Vanguard
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Follow Casey on Twitter, where he’s proud to have Pikachu manhole covers in his town.