Tigers and Cranes

I think the time has come for me to talk about Domo-Kun. Some of you may know him, some of you may think he’s great, some of you may loathe him. All in all, I’m about four years too late writing about the brown fuzzy monster, but what the heck. I’ve never claimed that I was with the times…

Anyway, here’s what our mute, flatulent friend looks like:

Who exactly is he? why, he’s the mascot(yes, still) of NHK broadcasting of Japan. NHK is a quasi-government funded channel that one can get through the air in Japan, and unlike in America, say, where PBS never really bothers anyone, quite often you can find the NHK dude knocking on your door to make you pay for watching NHK.

I used to tell the NHK tax collector “I don’t watch NHK, so I’m not paying”, which is a total lie, as I happen to like the stations.

So why exactly does a TV station need a mascot? Well, that’s a silly question. For example, NBC in America has the peacock, and CBS has the creepy eye. And while not as conventional, NHK has decided to use a squarish brown monster who hatched from an egg, who lives with an elderly rabbit and a bat, and her son, as well as having a crush on a yellow weasel with a cellphone.

no, really.

I generally like to avoid Shibuya, especially during the day time, as the place seems to plant migraines in my head, but up on a hill, in Shibuya, is the NHK Broadcasting station as well as the NHK Studio Park, which I decided to visit on a one sultry, humid day.

First thing that greeted me there was a large Domo-Kun shaped post box, and a slot in which to deposit one’s mail. His mouth, natch.

I must’ve been there on a special day, since the park was thronging with kids everywhere, and I was surrounded by kids and their parents. Although, I have to admit, the children were extraordinarily well behaved.

Entering the studio proper, one can see many interesting things, such as live filming of NHK dramas, News casts, small museums and memorabilia, snack shop, and of course, souvenir shops, where one can get myriad Domo-Kun and Nanami-chan (a squirrel, I think, with a hypercephallus syndrome) knick knacks. It says on this photo I took, she’s 77.7 cm tall(damn, that’s a big squirrel!) and weighs 7.77 Kg. Ha! I just got the joke as I’m typing this. “Nana” means “seven” in Japanese counting system.
Sorry, I’m kind of slow sometimes.

The whole tour of the premises shouldn’t take one more than about an hour, and it’s a fun diversion aways from madness that can be Shibuya. It’s also interesting to note all the old shows and actual filming that goes on there, and I caught glimpse of popular stars who regularly appear on variety shows.

I dreaded walking back to the train station in the stifling heat, but the Studio was thoughtful enough to provide a shuttle back to the station.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 3rd, 2007 at 12:16 am and is filed under Travel, japan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.