Tokyo Steampunk, Hayao Miyazaki's NI-TELE Really BIG Clock

The term Steampunk was coined in April 1987 by the American writer Kevin Wayne Jeter, in a letter to the Locus magazine. Defined as a sub-genre of science fiction, alternate history and speculative fiction, steampunk is characterized by worlds using all kind of steam-powered machines, from trains to airplanes and even computers. Besides the steampunk stories and movies, many real-life steampunk objects were built by fans of this genre, some of them perfectly functional.
Between them, a real masterpiece is the enormous NI-TELE Really BIG Clock, located in Shiodome, in front of the Nippon Television Tower:

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Hayao Miyazaki: NI-TELE really BIG clock, Nippon Television Tower, Shiodome, Tokyo

NI-TELE Really BIG Clock (yes, that’s the official name) is the creation of the famous manga artist and anime director Hayao Miyazaki, artist well known for the steampunk elements from its movies. Hayao Miyazaki worked on this project for 4 years…

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Hayao Miyazaki: NI-TELE really BIG clock, Nippon Television Tower, Shiodome, Tokyo

The work was made by the sculptor Shachimaru Kunio, artist who also built several other Ghibli Museum items:

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Hayao Miyazaki: NI-TELE really BIG clock, Nippon Television Tower, Shiodome, Tokyo

Like the name says, the copper clock is Really BIG: it weights 28 tons…

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Hayao Miyazaki: NI-TELE really BIG clock, Nippon Television Tower, Shiodome, Tokyo

… it is 10 meters tall and 18 meters wide, but it is visible only from several points in Shiodome…

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Hayao Miyazaki: NI-TELE really BIG clock, Nippon Television Tower, Shiodome, Tokyo

… and if you know where to look, you can see it from the Yurikamome trains:

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Hayao Miyazaki: NI-TELE really BIG clock, Nippon Television Tower, Shiodome, Tokyo

Besides indicating the hour…

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Hayao Miyazaki: NI-TELE really BIG clock, Nippon Television Tower, Shiodome, Tokyo

… NI-TELE really BIG clock can also perform 32 mechanical tricks:

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Hayao Miyazaki: NI-TELE really BIG clock, Nippon Television Tower, Shiodome, Tokyo

There are two humanoids blacksmithing…

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Hayao Miyazaki: NI-TELE really BIG clock, Nippon Television Tower, Shiodome, Tokyo

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Hayao Miyazaki: NI-TELE really BIG clock, Nippon Television Tower, Shiodome, Tokyo

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Hayao Miyazaki: NI-TELE really BIG clock, Nippon Television Tower, Shiodome, Tokyo

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Hayao Miyazaki: NI-TELE really BIG clock, Nippon Television Tower, Shiodome, Tokyo

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Hayao Miyazaki: NI-TELE really BIG clock, Nippon Television Tower, Shiodome, Tokyo

… and another one spinning a wheel…

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Hayao Miyazaki: NI-TELE really BIG clock, Nippon Television Tower, Shiodome, Tokyo

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Hayao Miyazaki: NI-TELE really BIG clock, Nippon Television Tower, Shiodome, Tokyo

… while two more humanoids are working on something…

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Hayao Miyazaki: NI-TELE really BIG clock, Nippon Television Tower, Shiodome, Tokyo

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Hayao Miyazaki: NI-TELE really BIG clock, Nippon Television Tower, Shiodome, Tokyo

… and, of course, they have their own clock…

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Hayao Miyazaki: NI-TELE really BIG clock, Nippon Television Tower, Shiodome, Tokyo

Here’s a third one, to their right…

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Hayao Miyazaki: NI-TELE really BIG clock, Nippon Television Tower, Shiodome, Tokyo

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Hayao Miyazaki: NI-TELE really BIG clock, Nippon Television Tower, Shiodome, Tokyo

… and another one resting on the balcony:

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Hayao Miyazaki: NI-TELE really BIG clock, Nippon Television Tower, Shiodome, Tokyo

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Hayao Miyazaki: NI-TELE really BIG clock, Nippon Television Tower, Shiodome, Tokyo

The sculpture is amazingly detailed: here is the left leg…

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Hayao Miyazaki: NI-TELE really BIG clock, Nippon Television Tower, Shiodome, Tokyo

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Hayao Miyazaki: NI-TELE really BIG clock, Nippon Television Tower, Shiodome, Tokyo

… and the right one…

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Hayao Miyazaki: NI-TELE really BIG clock, Nippon Television Tower, Shiodome, Tokyo

… the pair of claws…

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Hayao Miyazaki: NI-TELE really BIG clock, Nippon Television Tower, Shiodome, Tokyo

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Hayao Miyazaki: NI-TELE really BIG clock, Nippon Television Tower, Shiodome, Tokyo

… and the steaming teakettle from the top …

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Hayao Miyazaki: NI-TELE really BIG clock, Nippon Television Tower, Shiodome, Tokyo

Also, let’s not forget the cannons…

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Hayao Miyazaki: NI-TELE really BIG clock, Nippon Television Tower, Shiodome, Tokyo

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Hayao Miyazaki: NI-TELE really BIG clock, Nippon Television Tower, Shiodome, Tokyo

… and some more delicious steampunk details:

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Hayao Miyazaki: NI-TELE really BIG clock, Nippon Television Tower, Shiodome, Tokyo

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Hayao Miyazaki: NI-TELE really BIG clock, Nippon Television Tower, Shiodome, Tokyo

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Hayao Miyazaki: NI-TELE really BIG clock, Nippon Television Tower, Shiodome, Tokyo

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Hayao Miyazaki: NI-TELE really BIG clock, Nippon Television Tower, Shiodome, Tokyo

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Hayao Miyazaki: NI-TELE really BIG clock, Nippon Television Tower, Shiodome, Tokyo

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Hayao Miyazaki: NI-TELE really BIG clock, Nippon Television Tower, Shiodome, Tokyo

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Hayao Miyazaki: NI-TELE really BIG clock, Nippon Television Tower, Shiodome, Tokyo

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Hayao Miyazaki: NI-TELE really BIG clock, Nippon Television Tower, Shiodome, Tokyo

Whether you like it or not, Hayao Miyazaki’s NI-TELE Really BIG Clock will certainly draw your attention. Me? I loved it from the first second!

Travel Tip - The windup hours are:
- Monday to Friday 12:00 15:00 18:00 20:00
- Saturday and Sunday 10:00 12:00 15:00 18:00 20:00
The show starts 3 minutes and 45 seconds before each hour.

I almost forgot: visiting the Nittele Shop (TV-related souvenir shop, located inside the Nippon Television Tower), I also found a miniature of the BIG clock. Only 6 centimeters tall, it’s nicely detailed and it’s a working clock, too… and it’s on my desk ever since….

Article participating to J∙Festa – July 2011