Doraemon Museum ドラえもん ミュージアム

It is difficult to miss Doraemon in Japan, one of the most famous mascots in the country. Popularized in the early '70s by Fujiko Fujio's manga, the kitten will soon become the hero of an animated series with exceptional longevity (it is still aired on TV Asahi today) and even elected to the status of "animated ambassador" of Japanese culture abroad in 2008.

A cartoon life

It is in Kawasaki that a small, but the dense museum, retraces the fate of this strange cat with whom many Japanese have grown up with much fanfare. The boards designed by its creator (which also gives the museum its official name, Fujiko F. Fujio Museum) are the main collections, and adorn the rooms on the ground floor. It is rather the mangaka (author) than Doraemon who is the star here. The museum evokes the life of the artist, his passions, and his other successes (the aliens from Chimpui or the schoolboy from Bakeru-kun).

Merchandising

Upstairs, next to life-size statues of the characters in Doraemon, a reading room is filled with manga, and a small screen broadcasts a new episode of the series. On your way out, you will find it hard not to spend some time in the museum shop, and especially the coffee shop, which serves customized dishes in the shape of the local hero! Among them, the Doraemon Dorayaki is all the rage: pancake stuffed with red bean paste is his favorite!