In recent years, intrepid Pokemon trainers in Japan have been treated to a series of original ‘Poke Lids’. These are manhole covers with awesome, original designs, featuring various Pokemon stars, scattered all over the country. The one-of-a-kind installations are designed to encourage tourism to less famous areas, so if you want to see your favourite creature you have to make the journey to that particular location.

Another neat aspect of these covers is that the Pokemon featured sometimes have a link to the area. For example, Geodude (a rock with hands) can be found in Iwate, a prefecture name which includes the characters meaning ‘rock’ and ‘hand’. In the same way, Sandshrew has been chosen for Tottori prefecture, an area famous for the largest sand dunes in Japan. Both Sandshrew and Alolan Sandshrew have been named ambassadors to the prefecture thanks to this sandy link.

Tottori’s first ever Poke Lids were announced earlier this year in March, and now five more designs will be wildly appearing, including Sandshrew, Sandslash, and their Alolan regional counterparts… and a slightly… out of place Sandshrew… can’t quite put my finger on it…

Anyway, these new additions will bring the grand total of Pokemon manhole covers in Tottori to 19. By design, the campaign is encouraging travel all over the prefecture to see the various charms the area has to offer, so they are spread far and wide across Tottori.

Some covers will be appearing later this month and some in October, but information regarding the dates and exact locations for each one can be found on the Poke Lids website, which also includes every single Pokemon manhole cover to be found in Japan currently. Most are permanent but some are temporary so be sure not to miss out on your favourite Pokemon!