The 12 Japanese players currently in the MLB recently got a specially designed manhole cover in their hometown.
In the Greater Tokyo area, there is four - Seiya Suzuki (Chicago Cubs, Arakawa-ku in Tokyo), Yuki Matsui (San Diego Padres, Kawasaki-city in Kanagawa), Tomoyuki Sugano (Baltimore Orioles, Sagamihara-city in Kanagawa) and Lars Nootbaar (St. Louis Cardinals, Higashi matsuyama-city, Saitama).
All 12 manholes were placed in June 2025. More information about this project can be found on the MLB Japan website (content available in both Japanese and English)
https://hometownheroes.mlb.jp/
Japan is known for having special manhole covers of various design. I have a page introducing other themes that can be found in the Tokyo area: https://www.tanaka-tokyotours.com/tours/tokyo-manhole-tour/
The Seiya Suzuki manhole cover was placed in front of the Soma Kogyo company located at 3-15-6 Higashioku, Arakawa-ku.
Google Map location:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/EeCBdF6kNin5pRn18
Nearest stop is Kumano mae on the Toei Arakawa Line (Tokyo Sakura Tram). It is also possible to walk 15 minutes from the Machiya Station (Chiyoda Line and Keisei Line), where Suzuki grew up.
The design shows a steel bat which he used to hit golf balls in practice when he was a Little Leaguer. The company supplied Suzuki with the specially designed bat.
The Yuki Matsui manhole cover was placed across the street from the main entrance of Toko Gakuen High School, where he graduated in 2014.
Google Map location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/5qP8DoZsv9VJS8Zz8
Nearest station is Kurihira on the Odakyu Tama Line.
The Tomoyuki Sugano manhole cover was placed outside of the Sagamihara Baseball Stadium, also called Thirty-Four Sagamihara Stadium for sponsorship reason. It’s more than a 30 minute walk from the nearest station Fuchinobe (JR Yokohama Line) but there are also buses that leave from the south exit of the station. It's also possible to use the Hello Cycling rental service; there is about 10 bicycles available near the south exit of the station.
The stadium has a capacity of 16,000 and is occasionally used for high school games as well as NPB minor league games.
The Lars Nootbaar manhole cover was placed within the Yakyu Inari Shrine, a short walk from the Higashi-matsuyama Station on the Tobu Tojo Line.
While it uses different characters, the pronunciation of the shrine name is the same as the Japanese word for baseball.
Nootbaar's mother grew up in Higashi-matsuyama city.