wait don't all people have albums like these?
I noticed Tokyo has DECORATIVE MANHOLE COVERS.
Different designs in each district.
Thought it was cool. Took a photo.
Week 2: Took photos of 5 different ones.
Random guy approached me: "You collecting?"
Me: Collecting what?
Him: Manholes.
Me: ...no?
Him: disappointed, Oh. Thought you were one of us.
Me: One of WHO?
Him: walks away
Month 2: Kept seeing the SAME GUY at different manholes across Tokyo.
He'd show up. Take photos. Leave.
Finally asked him: "What are you doing?"
Him: There are 347 unique manhole designs in Tokyo. I have 289.
Me: You're collecting MANHOLES?
Him: We ALL are.
Him: *shows me a LINE GROUP*
"Tokyo Manhole Hunters" - 1,240 members.
Month 3: Joined the group out of curiosity.
They were SERIOUS.
Member 1: "Found a rare Taito-ku cherry blossom cover today!"
Member 2: "PHOTOS OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN!"
They had RANKINGS. COMPETITIONS. TRADING CARDS.
Me: This is insane.
Admin: This is HERITAGE PRESERVATION.
Month 4: Got addicted.
Started hunting manholes at 5 AM before work.
Found a rare Meguro design from 1983.
Posted in the group: CHAOS
Admin: "WHERE?!"
Me: "Not telling yet."
Admin: "WE'LL FIND YOU."
Month 5: They found me.
Seven members showed up at the location at 6 AM.
All taking photos.
One guy CRYING.
Him: I've been looking for this for 3 years!
Me: It's a MANHOLE!
Him: It's HISTORY!
Month 8: Became top 10 in the rankings.
Started getting SPONSORSHIPS.
Company: "We'll pay you ¥50,000 to wear our camera strap while manhole hunting."
Me: People WATCH manhole hunting?!
Company: Your YouTube channel has 40,000 subscribers.
Me: I HAVE A YOUTUBE CHANNEL?!
Turns out the admin was posting my finds without telling me.
Admin: You're our best hunter! Free promotion!
Me: DELETE IT!
Admin: It's making us all money! You get 40% of ad revenue!
I'd made ¥340,000 WITHOUT KNOWING.
Month 10: Quit my job.
Became full-time manhole hunter.
¥600,000/month from YouTube, sponsorships, and selling "manhole location data."
My parents: "What do you do for work?"
Me: "Urban infrastructure documentation."
Dad: "That sounds important!"
Me: taking a photo of a sewer cover, "Very important."
Present:
Found 312 out of 347 designs.
The remaining 35 are LEGENDARY.
One hasn't been photographed since 2009.
It's in a restricted area near the Imperial Palace.
I'm planning a heist.
Not really.
But kind of.
The group is WAITING.
This is my life now.