Saga dam gets a Godzilla wash.

The Iwaya Kawauchi Dam, located in the city of Ureshino, Saga Prefecture, was completed in 1973. Obviously, being exposed to the elements means that the structure accumulates dust and dirt, and so it needs to be periodically cleaned, getting its most recent wash this month.

However, some parts of the dam got extra attention, using special high-pressure power washers from Kärcher Japan, the Japanese branch of German cleaning equipment company Kärcher. That allowed the cleaners to use the front face of Iwaya Kawauchi Dam for an awesome dam art project, and having such a gigantic canvas, it was only appropriate to also have a gigantic star as the subject.

Yes, that’s none other than Godzilla himself, the King of the Monsters, who’s now appearing on the dam! Obviously, this isn’t the sort of artwork that you simply sketch out as you go along. Kärcher and the Saga prefetural government spent four months planning the project, with a team of seven technicians carrying it out over the ourse of two and a half weeks, from November 4 to 22.

▼ A time-lapse video of the cleaning/drawing process

As to whether or not the rendering of Godzilla is “life-size,” the kaiju’s height varies from movie to movie, but in the original 1954 Godzilla film he’s said to be have a height 50 meters (164 feet). With Iwaya Kawauchi Dam being 59.5 meters tall, the dam art, which doesn’t depict the bottom of Godzilla’s feet, is big enough to alight with at least some of his canonical sizes.


Being on the side of a piece of public infrastructure, there’s no admission fee to view this Godzilla. However, since the lines that make up the artwork are actually sections of the concrete that have been blasted clean, as they once again accumulate dirt Godzilla will fade away, and while that won’t happen overnight, it’s probably best to plan your trip to see the big guy sooner rather than later.

Source: PR Times, Otakuma Keizai Shimbun via Jin
Images: PR Times
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