Mr. Sato isn’t a doctor, but he plays one in these posters.

Located at the northwest corner of downtown Tokyo, the Ikebukuro neighborhood can’t quite match the glitz and glamour of certain other central districts of the capital, like Shinjuku and Shibuya. It is, however, still one of the most important points for people coming in from the suburbs, and Ikebukuro Station is one of the busiest in Tokyo.

So with Japanese pop band Ketsumeishi about to release a new album, titled Ketsunopolis 11, there’s currently a major advertising campaign going on in Ikebukuro Station, hoping to catch the eyes of all those people passing through the building every day. But when we heard a rumor from one of our readers that there was something “crazy” about the promotional posters, we had to head to Ikebukuro to check them out for ourselves.

Specifically, we were told the craziness was occurring within the Seibu Shinjuku Line section of Ikebukuro Station. But as we approached the ticket gate, nothing seemed that far out of the ordinary. Sure, there was one poster that featured Ketsumeishi’s four vocalists styled like Edo-period ukiyo-e woodblock prints, and another showing member Daizo Yoshida as a dinosaur…

…but by the standards of Japanese advertising, they’re not that weird. “Maybe the craziness lies deeper inside?” we thought to ourselves as we passed through the gate, but even then, things still seemed pretty normal.

I mean, look at that poster with the doctor on the back left pillar in the photo above. It’s probably for a dermatology clinic or a blood drive or something, right? Normal as can be.

Except, once you get closer you realize that no, this is not normal, because…

…this is Mr. Sato!

Right now, the thousands of passengers who make their way through Ikebukuro Station are being greeted by the grinning, approving image of SoraNews24’s crack/crackpot reporter Mr. Sato, dressed in a doctor’s coat despite the fact that his half-baked knowledge of health and anatomy makes him the last person you should be seeking medical advice from, but he’s not really offering any. Despite its appearance, the poster is really advertising Ketsumeishi’s 2019 concert tour, and Mr. Sato’s credentials, shown in bold black text to the right of his photo, are listed as “An industry leader in getting carried away.”

▼ It’s a description we can’t argue with.

We’d actually been contacted by Ketsumeishi’s marketing team some time ago, asking if they could use a photo of Mr. Sato, and we’d said yes. We had no idea this is what they’d do with his likeness, but we have to say, he looks rather dashing.

In the end, we counted four Mr. Sato posters in the station, which is getting pretty close to the maximum daily dosage physicians recommend.

Ketsunopolis 11 goes on sale October 24, and Ketsumeishi’s tour kicks off March 30. Unfortunately, the Mr. Sato posters will only be up until October 29,

Photos ©SoraNEws24
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Follow Casey on Twitter, where he regularly listens to Ketsumeishi’s summery “Natsu no Omoide” in the dead of winter to try to shake off the cold-weather blues.

[ Read in Japanese ]