Ebisu Station’s melody fun fact
Tokyo, Japan
After a fair bit of research – read: using Google and Wikipedia – I found out a few things about Ebisu Station here in Tokyo. First of all, I go there now and then and the station’s melody always makes me smile – and sometimes even do a little dance.
Yebisu, Ebisu, gods & beer
Ebisu Station was apparently built by the local beer brewery Yebisu, which in turn was named after a Japanese god.1
Now, it turns out the melody – known as Ebisu Theme locally and used in Yebisu beer commercials – isn’t Japanese at all. It’s actually written and performed by an Austrian guy named Anton Karas.2
He happened to be playing in a beer garden when film director Carol Reed stumbled upon him and used his music for the 1949 film The Third Man, starring Orson Welles.
The Third Man theme
Here is a video showing the opening credits of The Third Man, featuring Anton Karas’ tune:
Ebisu Station, Tokyo, Japan