From hometown sandlots in Japan to the biggest stage in American baseball, 12 Japanese players are rewriting the story of MLB. To recognize their impact, MLB Japan launched a first-of-its-kind campaign that combines one of Japan’s most beloved cultural traditions with interactive technology.

Twelve special manhole covers were designed by Japanese artists, each featuring one of the 12 MLB players. Installed in locations tied to the player’s baseball journey, often near their hometown. These manholes turned everyday streets into places of celebration and discovery. Manhole art has a special place in Japanese culture, attracting both locals and tourists, but MLB Japan wanted to go beyond static artwork and did this with the use of augmented reality. 

Next to each manhole is a QR code that can be scanned to unlock an AR experience. Using their phones, fans could see a portal appear in the space in front of them, which featured a multi-layered AR animation of their hero’s journey, from humble beginnings in Japan to the bright lights of the MLB. Powered by 8th Wall, fans could not only interact with the AR animation in front of them but also record their AR experience and post it to social media. For the first month, those who shared were entered into a draw to win a plane ticket to watch their favorite player live in the United States.

Wieden+Kennedy Tokyo and Gimbal Cube brought this campaign to life, and in turn transformed a cultural icon into an interactive tribute. The results have been a home run. In the first three months of the campaign, 70,000 unique visitors have accessed the site with an average dwell time of 1 minute 45 seconds. And this is just the start. The manholes will remain in place for a full year for users to engage with.