Manhole Rubbing

My friend Sarah has a new hobby - manhole rubbing. Everytime someone says it aloud, we catch each other smirking and smiling! Anyway, this all came about because of the current fascination that folks are having with the unusual and, very often, beautiful manhole covers that are found throughout Japan. There are several websites devoted to photos of manhole covers found throughout the world, and apparently, Japan seems to be leading the way when it comes to the best manhole covers. Many of the images on the manhole covers are a reflection for what and why the area is famous, and some are quite colorful. I now catch myself checking out the ground for manhole covers whenever I visit a new neighborhood or prefecture, and now photographthem as well. So expect to see more!
Getting back to Sarah's new passion: we decided to see about what she was so enthused. Sarah uses parchment and chalk pastels to rub and record the manhole cover images. We tried our hand at it and had some pretty good results. The Japanese would often stop and watch us - they think that we, Geigin, are a little strange anyway!
This part of Yamato is known for its beautiful parks and flowering plants so we found many manhole covers with flowers - how pretty!


Sarah setting the chalk with spray.

Teamwork!
The Finished Project!