Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Fujiko F. Fujio Museum : Bring Our Childhood Back


Who doesn’t know Doraemon? This cute blue cat robot is so popular worldwide and has become a modern Japanese culture icon. Long series Doraemon manga was created by Fujiko Fujio 藤子不二雄 (a pen name of Fujimoto Hiroshi 藤本 and Mooto Abiko 安孫子 素雄). Fujimoto Hiroshi, born in December 1933, found a same interested manga drawing partner named Mooto Abiko when Abiko was transferred to his elementary school. They made a publishing debut, Tenshi no Tama-chan in Mainichi Shokugasei Shimbun in 1951 and used Fujiko Fujio as a pen name since 1954.


The first Doraemon manga was published by Mainichi Shokugasei Shimbun in December 1996. The story started when Doraemon was sent from 22nd century by Sewashi Nobi to fix his great-great grandfather’s life, Nobita Nobi (のび太野比), who had a lot of financial problems. Nobita was described as a boy that always got a poor grade due to his laziness and bullying that he received at school. This situation impacted on Nobita’s future and so Sewashi Nobi’s. Because Sewashi Nobi could only afford a rejected imperfect robot, there was no other choice better than sending Doraemon.



Their collaboration had earned Obake no Qtaro, Pa-Man, Doraemon and others, but it sadly ended in 1987. Mooto Abiko then turned to black humour genre manga and uses Fujiko Fujio A. as his pen name. Fujimoto Hiroshi kept concentrating in drawing for children genre and used Fujiko F. Fujio.


Children were the reason why Fujiko F. Fujio kept drawing for them. He dedicated his life to children genre manga until his death in 1996 due to liver cancer.
とても 楽しく ドラえもんをかきました
皆さんにも楽しく読んで
いただけたら嬉しいと思います
                                       -      Fujiko F. Fujio




Fujiko F. Fujio Museum was built in September 2011, based on Masako Fujimoto’s desire. Fujimoto Hiroshi’s wife said that she would like to return a favor to children who had supported her husband’s manga. This museum is located at 2-8-1 Nagao, Tama-ku, Kawasaki City, Japan. It was built there because Fujimoto Hiroshi had stayed in that city since 1959 and created some popular mangas there.

Because the museum’s entrance tickets couldn’t be bought in Indonesia, we purchased them by using Loopi Machine in Lawson convenience store in Osaka (March 21st, 2015) for the schedule on March 28th, 2015, 16.00PM. The admission hours are 4 times daily, 10.00AM, 12.00PM, 14.00PM and 16.00PM. You can pick the schedule that fits you best, but only if it’s available. You probably want to buy it early, like one month before the date you want, since they run out very fast. Loppi Machine only provides Japanese language. If you face any difficulties, don’t be afraid to ask for help. The Lawson’s staffs are very friendly and will be glad to help you. After we finished the purchasing, the billing came out and was ready to be exchanged with tickets by giving them to Lawson staffs.


To get to Fujiko F. Fujio Museum, we took a Odakyu-line train towards Shinjuku at Machida station and got off at Noborito Station. Then we took a cute Doraemon bus to get there (210 yen). No parking lot so make sure you use public transportation. You must arrive within 30 minutes before the chosen admission time because you will have to queue before entering the museum.






Once we entered the museum, we were asked which language we preferred and were given brochures, theater tickets, entrance tickets and audio guides. At first, we felt a bit strange why they limit the amount of visitors. Apparently, audio guide is one of the answer. There weren’t many of them and also to avoid that the museum would become too crowded, so the visitors could wander around freely and enjoy the exhibition room with explanation from the audio guide. They provided Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean. Remember that taking videos and photographs only permitted in some areas.











At least, we could finally say that we had a lot of fun and a really great time there, like what Masako Fujimoto said. This museum is originally planned to cheer and bring out the spirit of everybody that loved his husband’s manga.

You may check here to get more information.
Opening hours:
Museum                                              : 09.30AM – 18.00PM
Museum cafe                                      : 10.00AM - 17.00PM
F Theater                                           : 10.00AM - 17.40PM
Museum Gifts Shop                            : 10.00AM - 18.00PM
Last shuttle bus to Noborito Station : 10.00AM - 18.40PM
Admission time                                   : 10.00 AM, 12.00PM, 14.00PM, 16.00PM
(no more shuttle bus service from Noborito Station after this schedule)
Admission fee                 : Adults and college students                 : 1.000 yen
                                         High school and junior school students: 700 yen
                                         Children (over 4 years old)                  : 500 yen
                                         Children (3 years old and under)         : free
Closing days                    : Every Tuesday
                                         New Year’s Holiday (30 Dec – 03 Jan)



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