It's That Time of Year Again: Checking In On Japan's Beloved Melting Baby Billboard

A store in Japan has a "horror" billboard that has turned into an unexpected tourist attraction.

The Hangai Nagahama store sells more than 70,000 miscellaneous items but its biggest attraction is what has turned into a terrifying billboard outside the store.

When the billboard was installed about a decade ago, Mothership reported the sign showed an adorable baby with a speech bubble saying, "We have lots of good, cheap things."

The store's owner, Masanao Itaya, who called the billboard his "favorite sign," told FNN that extreme heat over the past few years has morphed the baby into a terrifying ad, according to Mothership.

"I noticed it at the beginning of August [2023] and thought some people might find it creepy, so I thought about changing it," the store's owner told FNN as reported by Mothership.

He chose not to change the sign because Japan's Obon holiday was around the corner and he thought he would "leave it as it is for a while, so that people can enjoy it as a summer horror experience."

A year later, the baby's eyes and open mouth have turned into black holes while the rest of the sign is now a frightening shade of orange.