NHK or the Nippon Housou Kyouka is Japan’s national broadcaster. NHK is also known as the Japan Broadcasting Corporation and is the public TV and radio service of Japan just as the ABC is to Australia and the BBC is to Great Britain.
Attracting nearly 1 million visitors a year, the studio park offers a tour of the recording studios where you can see where some of Japan’s favourite television is recorded. You might even be lucky enough to see some recording of a drama or news program.
The public is also treated to a mini studio theme park with quite a few attractions, including chances for visitors to try their hand at announcing or even acting.
Studio Q offers visitors to see the cutting edge broadcasting technologies used to deliver quality television, and there is even a 3D high definition theatre which is well worth a visit.
For those wanting to be in the studio audience of one of the sometimes wacky television shows, you can make an advance booking with the centre.
Like all Japanese media, there are some pretty cute and somewhat weird animated characters in the NHK line up. One popular Character is Domo-kun, he is a little brown creature with a mean looking mouth that hatched from an egg and lives underground with a wise old rabbit… well, you get the drift. He is one of the favourites at the great gift shop at NHK Studio Park, which stocks lots of TV-themed T-shirts and other Japanese TV novelties.
The Tokyo NHK Studio Park is in Shibuya and is walking distance South West of the JR Harajuka Station or North West of JR Shibuya Station, both of which are on the Yamanote line. NHK Studio park is located below Yoyogi Park and just behind the Yoyogi Olympic Stadium. The centre has a modest admission charge and is closed some Mondays and public holidays.
UPDATE: NHK STUDIO PARK IS NOW CLOSED.
After 50 years of Operation, NHK Studio Park closed in May 2020 which was brought on by the Pandemic and the planned reconstruction of the NHK Broadcast Centre where Studio Park resided. The Concert hall known as NHK Hall, which is next to the site is still open, regularly hosts opera and classical concerts. For those interested in NHK and Japans broadcast history, NHK also has a museum of broadcasting in Atagoyama, which is near Tokyo Tower.
NHK Hall
https://www.nhk.or.jp/nhkhall/
NHK Museum of Broadcasting