Studio Ghibli Clock

Author: Richard Perkins
Photos/Video Taken: 2021/03/26
Address: 1-6-1 Higashi-shimbashi,
Minato-ku,Tokyo,【105-0021】

In the Minato ward of Tokyo is an item that was designed by the famous animation director at Studio Ghibli: Hayao Miyazaki. That item is the 日テレ大時計 (nittere daitokei), lit: the Large Nippon TV Clock. Also known as the "Studio Ghibli Clock", this is a clock that was built in 2006, a clock that took 6 years to complete. It is 18 meters tall and 12 meters wide.

This isn’t just an ornament, this isn’t just another clock. This clock was designed to move. There are only two shows a day now, one at 3 p.m. and the other at 8 p.m., but during these shows, this clock moves following timed music that sounds like it’s straight out of a fairy tale. When the music begins the dolls inside the clock begin to move, the balls held in each of the hands open up, and the entire clock springs to life.