I've been to Japan twice, and my greatest regret is that I came to know of these collectible cards only after leaving Tokyo during my first trip. You've probably come across how you can collect little stamps in a notebook across all tourist sites (If you haven't, that's another great side quest. Most tourist sites will have a little ink pad and an intricate stamp featuring the local specialty, and if you have a notebook, you can collect these stamps as a record of your journey). This is similar, but a bit more tangible, and more colourful. 

The first step to starting your own collection, is knowing about it, which this post will do. Manholes in Japan have been used to depict regional specialties, attractions, local heroes and whatnot for quite some time. But manholes are made of heavy metal, and carrying them away, no matter how pretty they look, is a crime. Look at this picture of a manhole cover in Osaka, featuring Osaka castle. So pretty! To avoid all this hassle, Japan came up with these little plastic cards that feature the same art work on them, and made it a collectible souvenir. You can see that the 2nd manhole card in the first column in the picture above, has the same image as the actual manhole below (albeit in a different colour). 

Okay, now you know manhole cards exist. The second step to starting your collection, is opening the holy grail of manhole cards, a personal project by some kind soul who has mapped every manhole card that is there to collect all over Japan, on this google map here. All the information is in Japanese, but Google translate does a fair job. Zoom into any place, click one of the manhole icons, and "Switch to Distribution map". This shows the address & google map co-ordinates of the place where you can get the cards. It also has links to websites which show if the card is in stock.  If you're visiting some place in Japan, you can just take a look at the map, and see if there's a manhole card nearby, and go and pick it up, and you'll have the makings of your own collection. You can see on the map that different regions have different coloured cards. 

If you've been bitten by the manhole bug, like me, you can plan an entire itinerary around collecting manhole cards. On my second trip, I totally took advantage of a JR pass that allowed unlimited Shinkansen rides, to just hop-on, hop-off at various little towns just to pick up manhole cards. I now have a collection of about 28 cards. If you're vaguely interested in this, and will be happy with just one as a souvenir, the easiest one to collect is in Shinjuku Tourist information center, near Shinjuku Station, a touristy area that's likely to be visited by anyone going to Japan the first time. Amazingly, this is one card that I don't have, despite staying in Shinjuku during my trip, because I remembered manhole card collecting  only after leaving Tokyo. If you manage to collect more than one from anywhere in Tokyo, I'm happy to swap a double I have. Instead of navigating Japanese, the link to this easiest manhole card pick-up is listed on the Culturally Adventurous map. 

The following section is for those who want to get into the hobby, and collect more than one, so feel free to skip if that's not you.

While these cards are indeed free, and you will be handed one if you ask for it without any trouble whatsoever, there are some points to note, which I found out the hard way. Not all the cards are available in easy to access tourist centers. Some of them require you to visit local government offices, or the Sewerage board office itself! I've found myself at a Sewerage Museum in Fukuoka (where they encourage you to take a look at their accomplishments before handing you the card), and in Takatsuki City Hall, where there was an election going on while I went to get my card! In Hiroshima, I was asked to answer a questionnaire about water saving principles before getting my cards. So while you may not pay in cash, you may have to pay in time, and calories (if you decide to walk everywhere like I did) while building your collection. The cards are handed out strictly one per person. Apparently there have been cases of scalping, auctioneering and all sorts of things that the government wants to discourage. But if you go as a couple, or a group, they will hand out one to each person if everyone asks for it. The cards are also only available at certain times (usually 09:00 AM to 05:00 PM, though some places may be open till 08:00 PM). The timings are listed on the map, so make sure you reach during opening hours to avoid disappointment. There are also some cards which are distributed at two different locations (one for weekdays, one for weekends). Make sure you go to the right one. I've found out the hard way and missed collecting some nice cards just because I went to the wrong place, and didn't have time to go to the right location which was too far away. 

While collecting cards is one thing, this activity also gives you a look into the Japan you don't normally visit as a tourist (visiting a government office, or walking into some remote residential locality), so the journey also ends up being as interesting as the physical card. If you start collecting, welcome to the hobby! Drop a line, and we can exchange notes. 

I'm going to focus more on the logistics involved rather than the history and culture of Theyyam, a danceform native to Northern Kerala, typically performed in Hindu temples from November through February every year. A lot of these events are performed in family temples. They are often small village events, with minimal budgets, and only local information. So it can be quite hard to search for information online, unless you know exactly what to look for, and if you don't understand Malayalam. I'd decided I'm going to watch a Theyyam performance in Kannur or Kasargod (or both?) during the Christmas break. I drove, so I had the flexibility to change plans at the last minute, with the only fixtures being my hotel bookings. I'd recommend having a vehicle (self-drive or taxi) at your disposal if you want to do this. The Kannur district website publishes a list of Theyyams in the district by the first or second week of December. Planning a trip in Jan-Feb might give you slightly more flexibility in staying close to a temple you'd like to visit. 

There are various kinds of Theyyam, each ritual having its own meaning and significance ranging from warding off evil to dispute resolution. They are high energy and awe-inspiring performances, accompanied by beats of the chenda drums and cymbals. Depending on the kind of budget each temple has, there are broadly two kinds of festivals. Some just do a single day festival. It starts around 6:00 PM and continues through the night, up to around 8:00 AM the next morning. If you visit a one-day festival, you may have the opportunity to see several forms of Theyyam the same night. Each performance lasts about an hour, and then there's usually a break of 30-45 min while the performers change their costumes. I happened to watch about 3-4 Theyyam performances from about 08:30 PM to about 12:30 AM at Kalathil Kooloth Sree Kuttichathan Temple in Thalassery. The image above, is Chaand Kuttichathan theyyam, a fiery performance accompanied with flames and intense chenda beats. I could feel my heart rate was off the charts by the end of the performance. This was a small intimate performane, with just about 100-150 attendees, most of them from the village, while a few like me had visited as tourists to see the performance. 

Larger temples, have 5-7 day festivals, with each day being dedicated to a single Theyyam performance. If you've planned for it, you may be able to see different dance forms if you go on successive days. I visited Kanathur Shree Nalvar Temple in Kasargod district one evening, and managed to catch a Muthor Theyyam (pic above) performance. This temple event was massive, with people from all nearby villages coming to attend, and there must have been at least a lakh attendees crammed into a large ground where the Theyyam was performed. There are two temples in this complex, and the Theyyam moves from one temple to another with the crowd following. This was a larger scale temple festival with several stalls selling everything from snacks to clothing. I was probably the only tourist there, with everyone else being from nearby villages. Due to a lack of time, I was only there for a few hours, so I caught just the one Theyyam. 

Want to watch a Theyyam performance, but cannot make it during Nov-Feb, or you can't access North Kerala easily? 

There are daily shows at Kochi Folklore Odeum, and this is probably the most convenient option for you. 

You can reach North Kerala easily, but can't make it on the specific dates of a particular temple? 

Visit the Parassinikadavu Sri Muthappan Temple near Kannur. They have a daily year-round Theyyam performance in the temple, once in the morning (05:30 AM to 08:30 AM), and once in the evening (06:30 PM to 08:30 PM). 

You don't have time or location constraints?

Wait for the annual Theyyam list the Kannur district website publishes in early December. Make a list of potential candidates and figure out if the temples have an Instagram account. Even the smallest temples nowadays manage to post a notice of the dates of their festival on either Instagram or Youtube these days.  You can search for the temple names and see what comes up. Like I said, you can find information if you know what to look for. The dates posted on these temple accounts are more reliable than the Kannur district website (scheduling changes the temple decides to make may not get communicated to the district).

Plan your trip around your chosen temple. Find a hotel not too far away. Performances happen at night, often going into the early hours of the morning, so make sure you don't end up driving several hours after a long night. Without a guide, you may not get too much information about what's going on or what's going to happen next, but don't be afraid to ask the locals. They are always happy to let you know what kind of Theyyam is going on at the moment, and what it represents. 

All the temples are likely to have some kind of food available. The larger ones will have extensive food stalls, while smaller ones might have a soft drink or ice cream stand. Locals typically sit down to a feast during their temple festival. As a visitor, I would recommend you head over after dinner. 

Finally, do be respectful of the locals and their culture, even if you aren't particularly religious, or are there just for the experience. It's an annual event that the locals look forward to with great enthusiasm, and it is a deeply religious, spiritual as well as a highly entertaining and fun event for them. Enjoy your Theyyam kali.

All three temples mentioned in this post, can be viewed on our Culturally Adventurous map by zooming into North Kerala.