Manhole Monday: Mu-Bus Manhole Cover

This manhole cover near the Sun Road entrance on the north side of Kichijoji Station is a relatively new cover. It was produced to commemorate 30 years of "Mu-Bus", a community bus system. The Mu presumably stands for "Musashino", the city in which Kichijoji is located.

Musashino City commissioned the Mu-Bus manhole cover, known as the "Mu-Bus Design Manhole". It celebrates a transport system that many urban planners cite as an early example of a successful Japanese community bus, designed to help residents, older people, and shoppers move around Musashino more easily.

The manhole depicts the bus with Kichijoji station front and bus terminal in the background.