A tiny statue with a huge fan following, the Peeing Boy of Hamamatsucho Station has been delighting Tokyo commuters for over 70 years with its ever-changing seasonal costumes. Discover the charming history, hidden traditions, and why this quirky railway mascot has become one of Tokyo's most photographed hidden gems.
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Tokyo is full of big and small surprises and one such surprise is at the JR Hamamtsucho Station. If you sit in the first compartment of the Yamanote Line going towards Shibuya, you can spot the Peeing Boy Statue on the Hamamtsucho Station Platform (Platform number 3)!
Named 小便小僧 Shoumben Koushou a detailed inscription plate below the statue states that it was gifted by a dentist to the Hamamtsucho Station in 1952. It is a great spot to take a short video with the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) passing in the back.. See the Youtube video below.
Apparently the Hamamtsucho Station Officer was looking for something to commemorate the 80 years of railway operations in Japan and the dentist Kobayashi Hikaru offered this statue.
Kobayashi actually made the statue for his son’s birth but later donated it to the station. His son still runs the dental hospital inside the World Trade Center on the 14th floor, just next to the Hamamtsucho Station!! Passing by Shinkansen trains offer a good background for the statue throughout the day.
The statue was apparently in its “naked” form initially, but Japanese women started dressing it up with various clothing (started by Tanaka Eiko who used to work near Hamamatsucho dressed up the statue on a cold winter day). The statue is a great source of pride for station workers who dress it in various costumes, traditional and otherwise at different times of the year.
There was similar statue at the Tokyo Station Marunouchi side worth nearly 4.5 million yen, but was stolen in 1972 and was never found.
The Statue with the Keihin Tohoku behind it. Peeing all day long.
Shinkansen action and the Tokyo Monorail passing by
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