Osaka's famous Glico sign showing a running man is now being lit up by LED lights instead of neon. The new sign, in the Dotonbori district, was unveiled on Thursday night, with actress Haruka Ayase and officials from food maker Ezaki Glico Co on hand.
The iconic sign, which has been around since 1935, now uses 140,000 LEDs, TV Asahi reported. The LED version is the sixth time the sign has been redone -- the last makeover being 16 years ago.
Work began on the sign in August. The new version is 20 meters tall and 10 meters wide. It will be lit up from 6 p.m. until 12 p.m. each night.
Officials said using LEDs is timely, considering that three Japan-born researchers won this year's Nobel Physics Prize for their work developing LEDs.
© Japan Today
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edojin
This area of Dotonbori is already one of the most entertaining areas in Japan ... so the addition of Glicko's latest LED "running" billboard should add to the excitement. Can't wait to head down to Osaka to see it ... plus enjoy all that this area in Namba has to offer.
papigiulio
Don't forget they are planning a huge swimming pool in the dotonriver as well. :
http://dotonbori-poolside-avenue.com/
gaihonjin
The Suupa Tamade LED screen to its right predated it by more than a year and has been pretty eye-catching. The new sign is pretty nice, though, and helps it push the marketing of the Dotonbori area as one of Japan's must-see tourist areas.
smithinjapan
gaihonjin: To an extent the fact that the two Japanese and American physicists got the Nobel Prize for the blue-light diode adds to the popularity and timeliness of the new sign (even though it's been in the works for a while), but it's still been a must-see tourist area for a very long time. The new sign is dazzling, by the looks of it, and I like that they can change the background to fit certain seasons or events (I hope they don't change it too often, though). There's something about the neon tubes, though... it's the Blade Runner I remember.
senseiman
Love that area. As with most of urban Japan, it is best seen at night, though even in the daytime it is a fun place to waner around.
Cortes Elijah
I traveled down to Osaka last year. I live in Tokyo and the people down there seem so much more friendlier!