Forget Batman, a Japanese Superhero Is Patrolling the Streets

Don’t get me wrong. That Batman outside Tokyo is great. But Batman is an American comic book character. There’s something special about suddenly seeing a Japanese superhero out and about and doing good on the home turf. https://kotaku.com/batman-spotted-on-a-japanese-highway-1626401928 Recently, people have been spotting someone dressed up as Kamen Rider on the streets of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.(new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=995c4c7d-194f-4077-b0a0-7ad466eb737c&cid=872d12ce-453b-4870-845f-955919887e1b'; cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "995c4c7d-194f-4077-b0a0-7ad466eb737c" }).render("79703296e5134c75a2db6e1b64762017"); }); [Photo: lav_ak01] [Photo: tkyutaka] As Matome Naver points out, the costume and the bike both match up closely with the actual Kamen Rider. Here is the real deal: [Photo via Naver] Kamen Rider is a masked hero who typically rides u31 เครดิตฟรี 31 บาท a motorcycle. The show debuted in the early 1970s, and the character has become one of the country’s iconic superheroes. A Twitter user named Tamaki saw the Kamen Rider near Kurosaki Station in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka. [Photo: lav_ak01] But, you wonder, what exactly would that be like? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sI4x7u8kd-w Something like this. Other Twitter users also claim to winner55 have seen the masked rider all over Kitakyushu. Though, one person apparently saw the same Kamen Rider at a diary farm in the Shikoku Karst highland. [Photo: vtwin_somen] [Photo: vtwin_somen] How do we know this is the same Kamen Rider? If you look at his arm, you’ll see an arm band, which is the same one on the Kamen Rider in Fukuoka. It’s hard to make out what the band says, but it says, “Stop Drunk Driving.” According to Matome Naver, the mysterious Kamen Rider is actually a local artist named Shinjiro Kumagaya, who makes sculptures with empty cans. I’d call this Kamen Rider performance art, but seeing as how this superhero hopes to stop drunk driving, it’s much more than that. [Photo: sor_69] Kamen Rider fights for human safety! To contact the author of this post, write to ww winner55 bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft. Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.