The “News Continues” podcast from the Impress Watch series launched in September 2026.
The theme of the second episode is “Tunk Tunk,” the official mascot character for GREEN×EXPO 2027 (the 2027 International Horticultural Exposition). Led by the staff at Travel Watch who cover world’s fairs, horticultural expos, and theme parks, we had a laid-back chat about Tunk Tunk’s current popularity and what we expect for the future.
Anyone can listen to the podcast for free via the digital streaming services “Spotify” and “Apple Podcasts.” Additionally, if you sign up for Impress’s free membership service, “Watch+,” you can read the full transcripts (plus photos and more) for every episode. We hope you enjoy them along with the audio.
Usuda: This is Usuda from Impress Watch.
Maruyama: This is Maruyama from Travel Watch.
Matsumoto: I’m Matsumoto from Travel Watch as well.
Usuda: In this segment, “Beyond the News,” we’ll present a talk-show-style discussion featuring staff members from each editorial department of the Impress Watch series as they share stories that didn’t make it into their articles, their impressions from reporting, and points they’d like to explore further.
The theme this time is “Tunk Tunk.” What exactly is Tunk Tunk, Mr. Maruyama?
Maruyama: First of all, I’m a little surprised that you were able to say the name “Tunk Tunk” on the first try (laughs). Tunk Tunk is the official mascot for the Horticultural Exposition to be held in Yokohama next year, in 2027. It’s kind of like “Myaku Myaku” from the Osaka-Kansai Expo.
Usuda: That’s easy to understand. Actually, I’m starting to wonder if trying to explain “Tunk-Tunk” using just audio is already a bit of a mistake.
Maruyama: Yes (laughs).
Usuda: I actually think it’s pretty cute. A globe with a heart on it and lots of green—I wonder if this description gets the point across…
Maruyama: That’s right. Just imagine a soul with a heart that loves the greenery of the Earth, with yellow legs growing out of it.
Usuda: Oh, I see.
Matsumoto: It’s like my hand is sticking out in front of me.
Maruyama: That’s right. When you see it in the costume, the arms stick out a bit to the sides, but in the illustration, the hands are positioned in front. The round globe is the main body, and compared to Myaku Myaku, the arms and legs have a bit less range of motion.
Matsumoto: Is it okay to call it a costume?
Maruyama: It’s okay to just call them “costumes” (laughs).
Matsumoto: Oh, are you okay? (laughs).
Usuda: So, are they technically considered “spirits” in the story?
Maruyama: That’s right—spirits. Since Myaku Myaku is a form of “life” that came from beyond Earth, Tunk Tunk is also based on a similar concept.
Usuda: Was that right?
*It is said that Myaku Myaku is a mysterious creature born from the fusion of “pure water” and “cells.” It was unclear whether it originated inside the Earth or not.
Maruyama: For more details, please check the official website, but the idea is that the heart and the Earth become one and speak to everyone, hoping to help them learn more about the Earth’s greenery and its beautiful places. Basically, it’s a concept that’s pretty similar to Myaku Myaku.
Matsumoto: Even though you came from outside Earth, do you want people to appreciate what’s great about Earth?
Maruyama: I want people to appreciate the beauty of Earth… Maybe I just thought it was a beautiful planet (laughs). Since those details haven’t really been revealed yet—at least not as much as with Myaku Myaku—that aspect might gradually come across over time, and we might even add more elements like the one where the color changes when they get excited, similar to Myaku Myaku.
*The heart-shaped part of Tunk Tunk is a curious spirit who came all the way from the far reaches of space, drawn by his longing for the beautiful blue Earth. The sphere (terrarium), which looks just like Earth itself, was his “home” during his journey here.
Usuda: So far, I don’t really get the sense that Tunk Tunk is taking off (laughs). Do you have any thoughts on this, Mr. Maruyama?
Maruyama: Let me show you the specific difference in popularity with some numbers. On Travel Watch, in addition to Myaku Myaku’s dance videos, we’ve posted footage of the ceremony marking the introduction of a wrapped train car on the Yokohama Municipal Subway—which Tunk Tunk attended—as well as and footage of Tunk Tunk posing for reporters’ cameras during intermissions at their press conference—we’ve actually posted quite a bit of Tunk Tunk footage that’s just as popular as Myaku Myaku’s.
However, while Myaku Myaku’s highest number of views recently was 680,000, Tunk Tunk’s was 6,800.
Usuda: Really? (laughs).
Matsumoto: You mean one-hundredth?
Maruyama: That’s true (laughs). Even so, while it only had a few hundred views when it was first released, that number has grown to 6,800 after about half a year, so I get the impression that it’s steadily gaining a little attention at a time.
*”Myaku Myaku” had 660,000 views, while “Tunk Tunk” had 7,400 views.
Maruyama: When we hold a meet-and-greet, everyone at Myaku Myaku holds up their cameras, and the excitement is almost like a crowd waiting for a celebrity to come out. At Tunk Tunk, though, people trickle in one by one… Right now, I’d say they’re popular enough that they can respond to everyone who says, “Look this way.”
Usuda: If we don’t ramp up the excitement, the Yokohama Horticultural Expo might not be a success either, so Tunk Tunk has a huge responsibility here, doesn’t it?
Maruyama: Myaku Myaku’s behavior—which was like, “It’s a little creepy, but if you look closely, maybe it’s actually cute?”—helped build excitement for the Expo and sparked the initial craze for merchandise, which was what really got things going.
I think that, at the Yokohama Horticultural Exposition as well, what really matters is that people find Tunk Tunk even cuter.
Usuda: What should I do? About Tunk Tunk.
Maruyama: Compared to Myaku Myaku, Tunk Tunk has shorter limbs attached to a spherical costume, so its movements are a bit limited… Myaku Myaku, for example, was good at showing a different side of itself, like performing the energetic “OKP cipher” dance.
Tunk Tunk hasn’t said a word yet, and the difference in his performance is limited to waving his arms and legs—plus, his fingers are actually surprisingly well-defined. The official pose for the Horticultural Expo, the “finger heart,” isn’t actually very well known, though (laughs).
Usuda: Wow.
Matsumoto: The gestures (laughs).
Maruyama: Unlike the World Expo, where there wasn’t a set pose for group photos, the Horticultural Expo had the “heart with fingers” pose firmly established from the very beginning. The fact that Tunk Tunk does that pose with us—while it has a certain cuteness that only those who pay close attention will notice—is, to be honest, still a little lacking.
Personally, I’d love to see them break away from that round silhouette and show us some kind of “second form”…
Usuda: Haha (laughs).
Maruyama: As for the merchandise, so far we’ve released different color variations—like black—and some slightly stylized versions. The globe design is quite intricate, with the leaves and branches of the plants drawn in fine detail, so it’s a bit more elaborate than the “Myaku Myaku” style.
As both a long-time Myaku Myaku fan and a new Tunk Tunk fan, my honest opinion is that I’d love to see some changes—like the plants being swapped out depending on the season, or combined with something other than plants.
Usuda: I see. It’s a little too elaborate—the world-building is a bit too solid.
Maruyama: I get the impression that this will really resonate with people who like characters like Moomin and Miffy.
(As for my ideal character archetype) characters like Myaku Myaku—and one that really sticks in my mind is “Marimokkori.”
Usuda: Oh, yeah. That happened, didn’t it? (laughs).
Maruyama: I’m from Hokkaido, so I remember that people back home would hang them from their car’s rearview mirrors—it seemed like everyone had at least one. It’s not so much cute as it is kind of creepy, but if you look closely, it might actually be cute—it’s the kind of character that grows on you.
Matsumoto: You’ve got a bit of a lecherous look on your face (laughs).
Maruyama: That’s the impression I get (laughs). At first, Myaku Myaku was given nicknames like “Mr. Sparkle of Life” or “Mr. Kill Me”—kind of pitiful ones—and was seen as a strange creature. But Tunk Tunk was pretty cute right from the start. He was already talking on the official website…
Usuda: Are you going to talk?
Maruyama: There’s a feature called “Let’s Talk to Tunk Tunk!” For example, if you say “Hello, Tunk Tunk” into your smartphone, it will say “Hello” back to you.
Matsumoto: Oh, really?
Maruyama: As of now, Tunk Tunk’s voice has only been featured on the official website.
*In addition to the unveiling of “Talking Tunk-Tunk” at Tourism EXPO Japan at the end of September, the “Tunk-Tunk Promotional Song” was released on October 19.
Maruyama: For example, if we set aside some time at an event for Tunk Tunk to talk about the Horticultural Expo—and that footage is then aired on TV or posted on Travel Watch’s YouTube channel—and people start noticing that “Tunk Tunk is actually cute when he talks,” I think that might help raise awareness of the Horticultural Expo itself a little more.
Usuda: For something that’s so intricately designed, there are a bit too many colors, don’t you think?
Maruyama: The Myaku Myaku variations include the standard black and white, as well as rainbow and pink. We had a whole row of rainbow-colored Myaku Myaku figures displayed on our shelf, and even when we combined just the red Myaku Myaku cells with various characters—like Sanrio characters—to change their colors or create new designs, it still gave the impression that it was a “collaboration with Myaku Myaku.”
There’s actually a campaign where Sanrio characters hold Tunk Tunk—the heart of the Earth—in their arms, and everyone tries to convey their love and gratitude. But if you just focus on that heart part, it doesn’t quite capture what makes Tunk Tunk so special—it kind of lacks that “horticultural expo character” vibe, doesn’t it?
Maruyama: I hope we’ll see variations that aren’t just the standard Tunk-Tunk design—ones that would be easy to turn into merchandise.
Usuda: It’s so complex that it seems hard to turn into merchandise, doesn’t it? The back view is really lush and cool, but it just doesn’t feel like something you could mass-produce (laughs).
Maruyama: The prints can be quite delicate—for example, with embroidery, that delicacy might be cute, but that makes mass production difficult again, doesn’t it?
Matsumoto: Is it really impossible to come up with a simple second form?
Maruyama: I went to the Expo venue 13 times to cover the event, but Mr. Matsumoto—who only attended one Media Day—was the first to recognize Myaku Myaku’s charm and actually bought some merchandise that later became incredibly popular. So, I’d like to ask Mr. Matsumoto what Tunk Tunk merchandise he’d like to have.
Matsumoto: I drew a ticket at the “Myaku Myaku Plush Toy Lottery” hosted by Maruzen Junkudo Bookstore at the venue during Media Day (before the opening), so I have a Myaku Myaku plush toy that’s lying down.
Matsumoto: What really draws me to Myaku Myaku is, of course, the way it moves. Myaku Myaku does all sorts of poses—like lying down or trying to do a handstand with one hand—but Tunk Tunk probably wouldn’t be able to get back up if it fell over.
Maruyama: That’s true (laughs). Since the costume is designed to be lightweight, it doesn’t feel like I’m going to fall over at all, but it might be hard to lie down in it.
Usuda: I can’t get any movement going.
Matsumoto: It would be nice if there were a slightly lighter version, wouldn’t it?
Maruyama: That’s right. I’d like to see some movements other than jumping and walking.
Matsumoto: Like, all of a sudden, my arms and legs get longer or something (laughs).
Maruyama: With a costume like this, only the palms of the hands are visible, so it would be cute if the arms were a little more exposed—if you could bend and straighten your elbows, dance, and really bring some movement to it.
Matsumoto: I really hope they’ll break out of their shell.
Usuda: Second Form.
Maruyama: The Horticultural Expo itself isn’t just “another event like the World Expo held the following year”—it’s a second iteration, meaning there’s plenty to enjoy beyond just plants. I hope that as both Tunk Tunk and the Horticultural Expo gain more recognition, people will start saying things like, “The Horticultural Expo is different from the World Expo, but it’s still fun!” and create a festive buzz—but first, I’d like to see Tunk Tunk become popular.
Usuda: Well, there’s still half a year until the Horticultural Expo.
Maruyama: The opening is on March 19, 2027.
Usuda: So, maybe in March…
Maruyama: Maybe its popularity is even higher than “Myaku Myaku”?
Usuda: I guess? (laughs)
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