Otamatone is a Japanese musical instrument in the shape of a musical note. This battery operated toy has been around since 2009 and sounds very much like a synthesiser.
This is what the unicorn Otamatone looks like. With one hand you press the stem to make notes. You can slide your fingers up and down to create high or low notes.
With the other hand you can squeeze the Otamatone’s cheeks to open and close its mouth, creating a ‘wah’ sound. You can also shake the device to create a vibrato.
Recently Otamatone has teamed up with Sanrio. This means that you can now buy one shaped like Aggretsuko, Gudetama or Hello Kitty. I’m a fan of the raging Aggretsuko design!
The prices for these regular sized Sanrio Otamatone (27 cm) start at about $33 and you can get them directly from Hamee (US) or through Amazon in other countries.
This Kirby Otamatone lineup shows the different sizes, with the smallest Melody version on the left and the large Deluxe version on the right.
If you wonder what the Otamatone sounds like, you should really check out the videos from the RealSullyG. He mainly plays music from the 70’s up to the 90’s and theme-dresses his Otamatones according to the songs.
If you’d like to explore Otamatone some more, you could try out one of these apps : Otamatone for Google or Otamatone Studio for Apple.
Natasja lives in the Netherlands with her husband and works as a freelance web designer. She likes to spend her free time browsing for cute stuff, blogging and reading. Natasja is currently taking a break from writing, as she’s got to prioritize family and work. But she does miss SCK and its readers, once things settle down, she’ll be back to write occasional posts.
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