Most travelers pass through Odawara on their way to Hakone or Izu. However, Odawara is known for its historical sites, most notably the Odawara Castle.
Now, there’s one more attraction, and is for anime fans! Odawara City government had adapted new manhole covers, featuring designs of the anime franchise, Mobile Suit Gundam. Art pieces of Gundam are also installed in the underground malls of Odawara.
These are all part of a new campaign, the Gundam Manhole Project, to promote Odawara as a tourist destination. It includes the appointment of Yoshiyuki Tomino, the creator of the Gundam franchise, as the Odawara Ambassador of Tourism. Tomino is from Odawara, thus the crossover with his hometown.