While many visitors to Japan might get a crick in their neck gazing up at towering pagodas and Tori gates, there’s one item that is much more down-to-earth but equally unmissable: manhole covers, or manhorukaba. Finding one embedded in the footpath is like finding a jewel, and can become addictive: they are, quite simply, tiny treasures waiting to be found. Japanese culture has always focussed on the micro, including complicated toilet seats that perform all manner of intimacies. As one walks the long straight streets of Japan’s modern towns and cities, the manhole covers shine like sunbeams of art and engineering. Reminders that greatness often lies in hidden things. Find all of Colin's past iconic designs here.