This Monday, members of the seminal metal band X Japan were in Odaiba rubbing shoulders with the likes of Brad Pitt, Lady Gaga and AKB48's Yuko Oshima. The catch? They were all made out of wax.
The life-size representations were just five of the many waxworks that are on display at Tokyo's newest attraction: the 13th branch of Madame Tussauds to open worldwide.
The Japanese five-piece made a rare appearance — their first press event as a full unit since 2011's Summer Sonic gig — to celebrate the unveiling of their own sculptures, each of which took four months and ¥21 million to create, and they were clearly impressed by the uncanny likenesses.
"They even have chest hair!" quipped Yoshiki, the drummer and leader of the band, whose own wax figure predates the others by a year, and has already been displayed at Madame Tussauds Hong Kong as well as in Japan. "I remember going to (Madame Tussauds) in London and having my photo taken with one of my favorite musicians — David Bowie," added guitarist and violinist Sugizo. There was, however, one figure conspicuous by its absence, that of vocalist Toshi: "Unfortunately the timing (of the sculpting process) didn't quite fit with my schedule ... I'll just have to stand here in person instead — I'll be here every day!"
After posing with their doppelgangers, the band also announced plans for a world tour but were tight-lipped on any details, simply name-checking Turkey, Indonesia and Russia as some of the countries that they would personally like to visit in the near future.