Pokémon Reveals 5 New Designs as Official Manhole Cover Project Continues Expansion
Image by Charlotte Davis
The Pokémon Company has revealed five new Poké Lids that will be installed across Japan’s Gunma Prefecture, with each design connecting its featured Pokémon to a different part of the region.
The new Pokémon manhole covers will appear across Numata, Tatebayashi, Shibukawa, Shimonita and Naganohara, adding another five original designs to the nationwide Poké Lids project.
Poké Lids are one-of-a-kind manhole covers donated by The Pokémon Company to local authorities, combining Pokémon artwork with landmarks, scenery, food and other details associated with the areas where they are installed.
More than 480 have already appeared across 42 of Japan’s prefectures, turning the project into an increasingly large tourism trail for fans exploring different parts of the country.
Let’s take a look at Gunma’s new Poké lids and find out where they’ll be located!.
- Numata – Dudunsparce and Shiftry
The pair appear against scenery inspired by Fukiware Falls, with the cover set to be installed near the entrance to the falls’ walking trail.
Shiftry also has a local connection through its tengu-inspired design, referencing the folklore surrounding nearby Mt. Kasho and Miroku Temple.
- Tatebayashi – Zigzagoon and Galarian Zigzagoon
Both forms of Zigzagoon appear on a design linked to Tsutsujigaoka Park, which is known for the thousands of azalea bushes that bloom across the area each spring.
The cover will be installed outside the Tsutsujigaoka Fureai Center inside the park.
- Shibukawa – Zapdos
Zapdos appears above the mountain scenery surrounding the Ikaho Onsen area, with its cover positioned outside Hototogisu Station on the Ikaho Ropeway.
- Shimonita – Farfetch’d, Galarian Farfetch’d and Sirfetch’d
The entire Farfetch’d evolutionary family appears alongside Shimonita’s famous green onions, giving the Pokémon’s signature leek another direct connection to the town.
Its permanent location will be outside the coconita community facility near Shimonita Station.
- Naganohara – Boltund, Meltan and Seaking
The three Pokémon appear around imagery connected to Yamba Dam, with the mix of Electric, Steel, and Water types fitting the surrounding hydroelectric and waterside setting.
The cover will be installed at the Yamba Furusato-kan roadside station.
Gunma has also produced a special sightseeing map linking all five Poké Lids with nearby attractions, alongside a promotional video introducing the Pokémon and the areas represented in each design.
The project is intended to encourage visitors to travel between the five municipalities while discovering their scenery, culture and food rather than treating the manhole covers as isolated photo spots.
Poké Lids have increasingly been used in this way across Japan, including six Pokémon manhole covers introduced across the Noto Peninsula earlier this year as part of wider efforts to attract visitors back to communities affected by the 2024 earthquake.
One of those regional Pokémon projects later expanded into the Noto Satoyama Pokémon With You Airport, which includes its own Bagon and Salamence Poké Lid alongside themed transport, displays and tourism experiences across the peninsula.
The five new Gunma Poké Lids are scheduled to be installed progressively across their respective municipalities through the end of November 2026.
Exact installation dates vary by location, with Shimonita’s Farfetch’d design temporarily being displayed at the town hall until its permanent installation near the end of November.
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