Pikachu/Game Boy manhole cover installed at Nintendo Museum, not viewable by general public

The newest Pokémon manhole cover is also the first to feature the classic Nintendo hardware, but not everyone will get to see it.

Nintendo recently gave its first preview of what’ll be waiting for fans at the soon-to-open Nintendo Museum in the town of Uji, Kyoto Prefecture. It turns out, though, that they held back at least one surprise which they’ve now revealed: a brand-new Pokémon manhole cover will be located at the museum, and it’s also the very first Nintendo Game Boy manhole cover!

As we’ve talked about before, it’s a common misconception that the Pokémon video games are made in-house by Nintendo. They’re actually developed by the company Game Freak, whose offices are located in Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward. However, with Nintendo serving as the Pokémon games’ publisher and thus bankrolling the productions and handling their marketing and promotion, there’s a strong connection between them, and so the Nintendo Museum is getting its own Pokéfuta, as the Pokémon manhole covers are called in Japanese.

It’s actually pretty rare for face-of-the-franchise Pikachu to appear on Pokéfuta all by himself, as he’s usually accompanying other Pocket Monster species. But instead of other Pokémon, the Nintendo Museum Pokéfuta features Pikachu and an original-model Nintendo Game Boy, saluting the hardware which the very first Pokémon games, Pocket Monsters Red and Green, were released for back in 1996.

▼ The Pokéfuta has both Pikachu’s name (ピカチュウ) and “Nintendo Museum” (ニンテンドーミュージアム) written in Japanese.

Though the Nintendo Museum isn’t opening until October 2, the Pikachu/Game Boy manhole cover has already been put in place, with Pokémon Company COO Takato Utsunomiya and Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa making an inspection visit, where they were joined by the individual who wields the real power in this project.

However, while the Pikachu/Game Boy Pokéfuta does appear to be a legitimate manhole cover that can be used to access subterranean utility facilities, it’s different from other Pokémon manhole covers in one important-to-know way. Until now, Pokéfuta have been in publicly accessible areas, such as on regular city sidewalks and inside public parks. The Nintendo Museum Pokéfuta, though outside, is located on the museum’s property, and according to Nintendo’s announcement, “can only be seen by people who will be entering he museum,” indicating that it’s in a place that’s not accessible to those without tickets. Nintendo Museum tickets must be pre-purchased through a lottery system to prevent overcrowding, meaning that only a limited number of fans will be able to see the Pikachu/Game Boy cover with their own eyes.

On the bright side, this means that if you are lucky enough to snag tickets, you’ll be able to snap photos of the cover with smaller crowds around it. And if you can’t get a Nintendo Museum ticket, we’re happy to help guide you to a Pikachu Pokéfuta that’s always free to see.

Source, images: Nintendo
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