How I met Anpanman

One of the nice things about Japanese trains is that, for the most part, they just work and - barring natural disaster or other acts of {insert name of favourite deity here} - are rarely late, and incidents which on the British railway system are part of daily life, such as a train conductor oversleeping resulting in the cancellation of the train, are worthy of national news coverage. One of the other nice things about Japanese trains is that when they turn up on time and stopping exactly where the markings on the platform tell you they will, they may well be decorated in some interesting and / or slightly surreal theme.

A few years ago (6, to be precise), I was bumbling around Japan on the Japan Rail Pass, heading off each day in whatever direction took my fancy, and one day fetched up on Shikoku. After visiting the Giant Sand Sculpture in the Shape of a Coin (銭形砂絵, zeni-kata sunae) at Kanonji (not a must-see item on any Japan trip, but a pleasant walk in a nice quiet town in Kagawa Prefecture), I was faintly disturbed to find myself boarding the Anpanman Train bound for Matsuyama.

Having at that point spent more than 5 minutes in Japan, I had of course heard of Anpanman but like so many cultural phenomena wasn't au fait with the nitty-gritty details. However, this was about to change, because the Anpanman decor wasn't limited to the outside: lest you forget you were on the Anpanman train, the theme continued into the interior, and Anpanman and his many friends (such as Dokin-chan, seen here smiling down from the ceiling) were there to accompany me on my trip along the northern Shikoku coast.

Thoughtfully JR Shikoku had also provided some reading material, and never one to shy away from an intellectual challenge, I engaged in a brief but fruitful study of Anpanman World and found it much more surreally delightful than I was expecting. Especially as one of the books had English translations in a style I regret not having copied down and engraved in stone (it would make a great conversation piece). Basically the plot is this: Anpanman, a guy with a head made of anpan (a bean-jam filled bread roll) spends his time fighting his arch enemy Baikinman (bacteria man). Anpanman was created by Jam Ojisan ("Uncle Jam"), a baker, when a shooting star landed in his oven during a baking session; and it is Jam Ojisan who bakes Anpanman a new head when the old one is damaged through exposure to his twin weaknesses, water and dirt.

There are many other characters in Anpanman's world (hundreds, I believe). Among the most common are the above-mentioned Dokin-chan, who is Baikinman's female side kick (I didn't know this at the time, otherwise I would have changed carriages); Cheese, Anpanman's dog (whom when they first men Anpanman saved from starvation by feeding Cheese part of his own head); Shokupanman (sliced white bread man), one of Anpanman's main helpers; and of course Batako (Butter Girl), assistant to Jam Ojisan.

If you want to find out more about the wonderful world of Anpanman, here are some useful links:

• The Anpanman Official Homepage (in Japanese)
• The Anpanman Museum (in Japanese)
• Anpanman from Metropolis Magazine (Tokyo)
• The Anpanman entry at Anime News Network