Hikakin

, who is professionally known as Hikakin (Japanese: ヒカキン), is a Japanese YouTuber, beatboxer, and businessman. He co-founded and is supreme advisor of the Japanese multi-channel network Uuum. He also established, and serves as co-CEO and Chief creative officer of the company . Hikakin is also a member of the Japanese music group Hikakin & Seikin. His popularity on YouTube and extensive media coverage have made him one of Japan's most-prominent online personalities and content creators.

Hikakin was born and raised in Myōkō City, Niigata Prefecture. He opened his YouTube channel "Hikakin" in 2006, posting mainly beatboxing videos. In 2010, he posted "Super Mario Beatbox", a beatbox medley of music from Super Mario Bros., which gained over a million views in one week. In 2012, he quit his supermarket to focus on his YouTube channel. In 2015, he began producing music, including the "YouTube Theme Song", which he co-wrote with his brother Seikin, and in November of the same year, his channel "HikakinTV" exceeded 2.57 million subscribers, making it the most-subscribed-to YouTube channel in Japan.

In 2021, his YouTube channel "HikakinTV" surpassed 10 million subscribers and by 2022, "HikakinTV" had accumulated more than 10 billion views. In 2023, Hikakin launched his brand Hikakin Premium (currently known as Bee), and released cup ramen, "Misokin Rich Miso Ramen" (みそきん 濃厚味噌ラーメン), and cup rice, "Misokin Rich Miso Meshi" (みそきん 濃厚味噌メシ), at 7-Eleven stores in Japan, which had sold 60 million meals in July 2026. On April 21, 2026, he launched the barley tea "Onicha" (鬼茶) and two months later, sales surpassed 7.5 million bottles.

Hikakin's seven YouTube channels have more than 30 million subscribers and 25.7 billion views, and as of July 2026, his main channel, "HikakinTV", is the eighth-most-subscribed-to YouTube channel in Japan. His online popularity has boosted sales of the video games he plays and inspired support for charitable fundraising. Hikakin has been nominated in the International category at the 10th and 12th Streamy Awards, and Forbes Japan named him one of the "Top 50 Influencers" in 2019.

Early life Hikaru Kaihatsu was born on April 21, 1989, in Myōkōkōgen, Nakakubiki District, Niigata Prefecture (present Myōkō City, Niigata Prefecture). He has an older brother, Seikin, who is also a YouTube content creator. As a child he was noted as a strange boy in the corner of the classroom. They grew up in the snowy Jōetsu region. When he was attending elementary school, Hikaru's dream was to participate in Olympic ski jumping, and he continued to ski jump until high school. he entered . and Niigata Prefectural Arai High School, and went to Tokyo. Some supermarkets in Tokyo employed people from Niigata Prefecture, and he found employment at the Japanese supermarket (吉池).

Career

2006–2010: Career beginnings and breakthrough Kaihatsu started his YouTube channel "Hikakin" in December 2006. He opened account so he could watch videos of overseas beatboxers, and started uploading his own videos to it.

Kaihatsu applied to become a YouTube partner, a system for earning advertising revenue, but was rejected. After this, he wanted to get offers from YouTube, and began to make videos from the viewer's point of view. For about two years after his arrival in Tokyo, his channel's views gradually increased, and the most-popular video at the time had about 200,000 views. YouTube was not well-known in Japan, and only about 10-20% of its content originated in Japan. This was te most-popular YouTube video of the month in Japan, The video reached 200,000 views within 24 hours of upload, and a million views a week later, and Hikakin received interview requests from two Japanese television stations. and won the "WOW Star Project 2010" organized by the Japanese broadcaster Wowow, earning an invitation to Las Vegas. These events led to a gradual increase in requests to perform live and on television shows. Later that year, he entered the "YouTube NextUp 2011" contest, which awarded two million yen (about US$12,800) to ten winners, intending to become a full-time creator, but he was not selected. Following this, he sought guidance from Tomohiro Sato, a YouTuber advisor, who provided him with video-creation handbooks and personal advice. He also analyzed and adapted editing techniques, titles, and thumbnails from top domestic and international creators. Within approximately three months, Hikakin's YouTube revenue surpassed his salary from his job. The channel quickly became a success, and by the end of 2011, the "Hikakin" channel had the most subscribers in Japan. Regarding his time as an office worker, he said, "It was hard because I wasn't doing what I loved. But I was able to continue working thanks to my determination, thinking, 'I'm not just an office worker. I make videos and people from overseas are watching them. In May 2013, Hikakin participated in the Social Star Awards and the subsequent Singapore Social concerts, performing with Aerosmith, beatboxing and performing with the band on "Walk This Way". A month later, he founded the Japanese multi-channel network Uuum and became its chief advisor. Two months later, he published his first book, , through the Japanese publisher , and sales surpassed 30,000 copies.

At the end of 2013, Hikakin received an offer from the Japanese anti-aging cosmetics company and appeared in a television commercial for its "Scalp D" (スカルプD) shampoo. This marked his first appearance in a television commercial. In February, he collaborated with American singer Ariana Grande, beatboxing to her song "Baby I". On June 27, 2014, in collaboration with Google, Hikakin started a live video project called "HikakinGames with Google Play" for game apps available on Google Play.

In October 2014, Hikakin performed at the first YouTube FanFest in Tokyo, Japan. At the same event, Japanese breakbeat-music duo Hifana performed with instruments and using Hikakin's beatbox broken down into several parts, and created a new combination of these elements.

In December 2014, Hikakin went to New York City to collaborate with Ariana Grande, beatboxing while she was singing "Break Free". He also appeared in YouTube Rewind video, YouTube Rewind: Turn Down for 2014.

2015–2023: Mainstream success

On August 14, 2015, Hikakin released "YouTube Theme Song" which he co-produced with his older brother, Seikin. From this point, the pair began to produce music as Hikakin & Seikin. "YouTube Theme Song" reached number 78 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100. As of 2024, it has surpassed 100 million views, becoming the most-viewed video on his channel "HikakinTV". In November of the same year, "HikakinTV" surpassed 2.57 million subscribers, making it the most-subscribed-to YouTube channel in Japan.

On December 22, 2017, Hikakin became the first YouTuber to appear on Music Station Super Live. On May 12, he worked with members of SMAP on Fuji Television's SMAPxSMAP. In 2019, Forbes Japan included him in its "Top Influencers 50" list.

On April 10, 2020, on his YouTube channel, Hikakin posted a video featuring a conversation with Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike about the COVID-19 pandemic, in response to Hikakin's suggestion. This video was viewed more than seven million times within 24 hours of its release. Forbes Japan stated this video is "easy to spread" because it was not monetized and included no advertisements. In an interview with BuzzFeed Japan, he later stated he believed influencers should use their platforms to provide accurate information to young people and hoped his content would benefit others in the future. On December 8, 2020, the video was ranked number one in YouYube's official list of "Domestic Annual Top Trending Ranking".

His channel kept growing, reaching nine million subscribers on April 8, 2021. Hikakin set 10 million subscribers as his next goal. When his "HikakinTV" channel reached its 10th anniversary, he announced he would post 10 videos with extra effort, from August 1 to 20. The 10th video is the music video for Hikakin & Seikin's song "", produced to commemorate the anniversary. This is the first Hikakin & Seikin music video to be released on "HikakinTV" since "YouTube Theme Song" in 2015. Hikakin changed his intro animation to one in which he encourages himself to reach his goal and celebrates HikakinTV's 10th anniversary. The same day, he made a live broadcast and cried at the moment he reached the milestone. In September 17 of the same year, Hikakin announced he would donate 10 yen (about US$0.06) for every additional subscriber for the rest of his life. For every additional million subscribers, he would donate 10 million yen (about US$64,000), The post garnered over 1.75 million retweets. In a video uploaded on December 21, Hikakin noted this figure surpassed the 1.087 million retweets achieved by an anti-racism post from BTS using the hashtag "#StopAsianHate". According to data released by Twitter Japan on December 10, BTS's post previously held the record for the most retweets globally in 2021. Ultimately, this tweet reached 1.8 million retweets, becoming the eighth-most-retweeted tweet.

On August 7, 2022, Hikakin released a video of a large-scale project in which he rented out Fuji-Q Highland, titled "" (人気者を捕まえろ! ヒカキンおにごっこ 2022夏). This video is a tag project he planned and held with 130 million yen (about US$910,000) as a "dream video that he really wanted to shoot" after his channel surpassed 10 million subscribers. After ist release on YouTube, it set a record by ranking first overall on YouTube's trending rankings, receiving 280,000 simultaneous viewers and exceeding five million views in one day after its release.

On August 16, 2022, his channel "HikakinTV" reached 10 billion total views. On December 6, he was ranked first in the "Top Trending Videos of the Year in Japan" officially announced by YouTube. This marked the third-consecutive year in which he was ranked first in the "Top Trending Videos of the Year in Japan". He also ranked ninth in the gaming category. At the request of the principal, he was accompanied by his older brother Seikin, who also graduated from the school, and his childhood friend and classmate YouTuber , who accompanied Hikakin as surprise guests; they created a commemorative painting and sang the school song with the students. Around April 2024, Hikakin posted a popular short "counter video" celebrating the moment his channel reached a certain number of subscribers. More people subscribed, increasing by a million in the week from April 28 to May 4. In May 2024, his subscriber base increased by 4.08 million, and he commented: "I made counter short videos popular and ushered in a new era for YouTube".

In May 2024, Hikakin posted a video recreating the opening movie for the second season of the television anime series Mashle: Magic and Muscles, which uses the Japanese hip-hop duo Creepy Nuts' song "Bling-Bang-Bang-Born" as its opening theme. The video features the character he plays. Production cost about 50 million yen (about US$35,000), and it was shot in 70 hours over four days. During the four days of filming, he averaged two to three hours of sleep per day. He said he slept for only ten hours and played more than 30 characters, making it a "tough shoot". Fans praised the video, which was viewed 10 million times within a day of its release, making it Hikakin's most-viewed video of 2024. He gained 76,000 Twitch followers in December, becoming the Japanese Twitch streamer who gained the most followers that month. After that, on January 17, 2025, he announced that he had opened a channel called "HikakinClipTV" on YouTube to post clips of his Twitch live-streaming. In a YouTube video, he said he created this channel because his clip videos were popular on social media, and that "you can see a Hikakin for adults". This was the first channel he opened since "HikakinGames" in 2013.

On January 24, 2025, Hikakin's sub-channel "SmaDigiTV" was discovered by X (formerly Twitter) user "Hikakin_Finder". He opened this channel in March 2013, and only one game app review was posted in May of the same year. At the time of posting, the video had been viewed about 4,000 times and had 54 subscribers, but due to its popularity, as of January 25, 2025, it had been viewed 28,000 times and had 3,000 subscribers. In 2025, Hikakin and several other creators affiliated with Uuum commented on popular, trending titles on Google Play. In September, he appeared alongside fellow YouTuber Hajime Syacho at a promotional event for Asahi Breweries' "Mirai no Lemon Sour" (Future Lemon Sour), held at in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture. The event involved attempts to set two Guinness World Records; "Most people opening drink cans simultaneously" and "Most people toasting online and in a single venue simultaneously". They set both records, with 2,747 participants for the former and 2,806 for the latter. The record for the former was broken in Hoover, United States, in July 2026.

YouTube content

Hikakin has opened seven channels on YouTube, and as of August 2026, the inclusive number of subscribers is approximately 30 million, with approximately 25.7 billion views. Additionally, his main YouTube channel, "HikakinTV" has over 19.8 million subscribers as of July 2026, making it the 8th most-subscribed YouTube channel in Japan. His video greeting, "Bzz bzz, hello YouTube, I'm Hikakin", contains a nod to the American beatboxer Rahzel. Hikakin said his fan base consists mainly of elementary and junior high school students, and he wants to create family-friendly content. He asked his senior the reason for the suffix "Kin", but this was never revealed. When he was in junior high school, he began posting beatboxing clips on bulletin boards under the name Hikakin, and the name gradually spread, so it stuck. As of 2026, his current videos are aimed primarily at people in their teens and twenties, and are described as "clean". Spencer Cohen of The Japan Times described his videos as "simple and formulaic", noting they are tailored to the short attention spans of children growing up in an era saturated with screens and content. Naoya Osato of Japanese entertainment news website compared his past and present videos, noting that, beyond the improvement in quality, there is now a deliberate, thorough focus on compliance and ensuring the content does not offend anyone; as a result, his videos are deemed suitable for children and have garnered support from fans across generations. Japanese political sociologist analyzed his work, noting the "skillful" use of sound effects and visual effects, and that the strategic use of sound for different scenes makes the content aurally clear and easy to follow.

As his channel has grown, his content has become more diverse, and in addition to traditional beatboxing videos, his content now includes vlogs, DIY, gadget introductions, travel, and food. From 2020, his videos began to exceed one hour; Kenta Terunuma of Shueisha Online analyzed this shift, noting YouTube's algorithm had begun prioritizing "watch time" over "view count", and that Hikakin had adapted his strategy accordingly. focusing on keeping them short and fast-paced. He usually works at home but sometimes films in a studio. He now hires an editor for his videos and edits with a team. In a 2022 interview, he said: "Compared to when I was doing it alone, working with a team is hard because it requires different skills."

In the early part of his career, Hikakin would somtimes post two or three videos a day. Between 2012 and 2015, he posted more than 800 long -form videos a year. As a result, videos titled "Fatigue Kin Collection", (疲労キン集) which were collections of strange statements he made due to fatigue, began to spread on social media, and in a video from May 2024, he said: "Around this time, I was taken away in an ambulance once. I was working without sleep, and once. I had some terrible hives all over my body, so I had to be taken away, around this time."

Business interests

On April 21, 2023, the day of his 34th birthday, Hikakin announced on his channel "HikakinTV" he would suspend all activities, including social media, for a week. The break was in preparation for the launch of Hikakin Premium. On April 27 of the same year, he announced the brand's launch.

Misokin "Misokin" (みそきん) is a series of instant noodle and instant rice products produced by Hikakin and manufactured and sold by Nissin Food Products. Since its launch in May 2023, it has become a social phenomenon, selling out immediately upon every release. By 2026, cumulative shipments had surpassed 60 million units. The product lineup includes "Misokin Rich Miso Ramen" (みそきん 濃厚味噌ラーメン) and "Misokin Rich Miso Meshi" (みそきん 濃厚味噌メシ). The brand operates physical ramen stores that require advance reservations.

On May 9, 2023, Hikakin Premium launched its first products, a cup ramen called "Misokin Rich Miso Ramen" (みそきん 濃厚味噌ラーメン) and a cup rice called "Misokin Rich Miso Meshi" (みそきん 濃厚味噌メシ), which garnered attention on social media. The products were manufactured by Nissin Food Products Co., Ltd. and sold though Seven-Eleven stores throughout Japan.

On May 18, 2025, Hikakin posted a video announcing "New Misokin" (新みそきん) would go on sale at Seven-Eleven stores across Japan on May 24. The "New Misokin" line consists of "Ramen" and "Meshi" (rice), which contain meat, which was not included in the original versions. On October 25, 2025, he launched a new product called "Spicy Misokin" (辛みそきん).

On July 12, 2026, Hikakin posted a video announcing the launch of new products: "Curry Misokin" (カレーみそきん) and "Curry Misokin Meshi" (カレーみそきんメシ). These went on sale at Seven-Eleven stores across Japan on July 26.

Reception "Misokin" products sold out on the first day of release, and words related to "Misokin" trended on X (formerly Twitter), and posters apologizing for the lack of stocks were displayed in stores. Hikakin was so influential they released a video on the day of the release. There were also reports of high-value resale on Mercari. Restock was scheduled to be around the middle of August 2023, and limited quantities were sequentially released at Seven-Eleven on August 10. Some stores restricted purchases. In the following year, 2024, it was resold on May 25 and 30th.

On November 24, 2024, he announced on X (formerly Twitter) cumulative sales of "Misokin Rich Miso Ramen" and "Misokin Rich Miso Rice" had exceeded 10 million meals. As of July 12, 2026, this product has sold over 60 million meals. Nissin Foods investigated the matter and discovered fragments of an adult cigarette beetle. The X user received three cups of instant noodles as an apology, stating: "It was disappointing that the way they handled the situation was so sloppy". This response drew a flood of criticism online. Nissin Foods stated: "We take this matter very seriously; we will re-examine and strictly enforce hygiene and quality control measures at our factories, review our system for handling customer inquiries, and strive to prevent a recurrence". The following day, he posted on X: "I might not be able to post on social media for a while. Please don't worry; it's not due to any trouble", though he did not reveal specific details. On April 5, he uploaded a video announcing "Onicha" would go on sale at Seven-Eleven stores starting April 21.

Onicha (鬼茶) is a barley tea beverage that is manufactured by Cheerio and is marketed with the concept of "adding a fun, exciting experience to barley tea—an everyday drink", stemming from Hikakin becoming a father and paying greater attention to children's health. It is made using only barley.

Immediately after its release, the product trended on X and sold out across Japan. Sales resumed in stages starting on April 25, 2026. Reactions have been mixed; some critics have praised the taste as "refreshing and easy to drink", others have noted that although they had high expectations, it is ordinary barley tea. On April 25, Hikakin posted a video announcing shipments of Onicha had surpassed seven million bottles. On June 9 of the same year, HuffPost Japan reported sales had exceeded 7.5 million bottles.

Physical stores

On August 3, 2025, Hikakin announced on his YouTube channel "HikakinTV" he would open a Misokin store on Ramen Street, in Tokyo Station, on August 7. The store was scheduled to be open until February 23, 2026. It was also announced reservations would be required to reduce congestion. The menu consistes of four types of ramen: "Misokin" (みそきん), "Ajitama Misokin" (味玉みそきん), "Char Siu Misokin" (チャーシューみそきん), and "Special Misokin" (特製みそきん). The soup is made with white miso from Niigata Prefecture, blended with pork bones and chicken bones, and the noodles would be made with Japanese wheat.

On March 1, 2026, Hikakin posted a video on his YouTube channel announcing that a second physical store would open in Ikebukuro on March 8. He also revealed plans to open a third store in Osaka around the summer of the same year. Regarding the Osaka location, he explained that construction was taking time due to the store's "considerably large" size. In addition, he also announced a new menu item, "Spicy Misokin" (辛みそきん).

On July 26, 2026, he posted a video announcing the opening of a physical Misokin store in Osaka, which was teased in an earlier video, at Abeno Cues Mall commercial complex. It opened on August 1 of the same year, and 800 people selected by lottery were invited to the opening ceremony, where Hikakin performed the ribbon-cutting.

Company rename In April 2026, Hikakin, Uuum co-founder , and former Google employee Hikaru Yamamoto established a company called Bee (stylized in all caps). This company operates the brand of the same name associated with Hikakin. It was originally known as "Hikakin Premium" and was managed by P2C Studio, a Uuum subsidiary, as a joint venture between Hikakin and Uuum. Coinciding with the April 2026 launch of the barley tea product "Onicha", the brand was renamed "Bee" and an eponymous company was established.

Public image and influence

Since his breakthrough with his beatboxing videos on YouTube, Hikakin has become one of the most-influential and prominent online personalities in Japan, through his popularity on YouTube and extensive media coverage. Media have portrayed him as a pioneer of YouTube in Japan. He has been featured in various publications as Japan's "Top YouTuber". Most of his videos are moderate; he is also known as "unfamiliar with controversy" (炎上知らず), and when scandals involving other popular YouTubers occurred, his reputation improves and he is even called a "saint". Even if he did get stir controversy, most of it was minor, and on the contrary, the voices of his defense were louder. In 2015 and 2020, viewers spread false rumors, and he posted two videos to clarify misunderstandings. On July 19, he deleted the comment and apologized in the comments section. On August 13, he directly addressed the person in a video to apologize and reported they had reconciled. He expected the video's comment section would be filled with criticism of the other party, but Hikakin himself was criticized, and he apologized and accepted responsibility. In June 2024, he included a video recorded in a public restroom, which drew criticism.

According to , the frontman of Japanese rock band Shinsei Kamattechan, who is an old friend, described Hikakin's personality: "There is not another person who is this open-minded". He described Hikakin as kind to everyone, and as someone who does not care about profit or loss. He said Hikakin is a person who can take action. According to Noko: "The first time I met him was at a party hosted by Japanese entrepreneur Takafumi Horie in 2013, and when he told me that his goal at the time was that he wanted to exceed the number of subscribers on a corporate channel. Normally, if I were to see him as a rival, I wouldn't have to be an individual. It's amazing that the other party was a company". Takafumi Horie described Hikakin as "an ordinary person", and said: "There aren't many people who are popular on the internet who aren't very pushy, and even though they weren't really outstanding during their school days, they're just average people. So it's just as I expected".

Philanthropy In 2014, hHikakin donated 597,840 yen (about $3,800) collected at a charity handshake event, and 1.4 million yen (about $8,900) of his own, to areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake.

In 2018, through the Central Community Chest of Japan, he donated one million yen (about $6,300) to areas affected by the 2018 Japan floods. In 2019, he donated one million yen to the Typhoon Hagibis disaster area. On January, 2020, in response to the Black Summer bushfires in Australia, he donated $15,000 to the Australian Red Cross and $15,000 to Port Macquarie Koala Hospital.

On May 21, 2020, to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2, he established the "Coronavirus Medical Support Fund" in partnership with Yahoo! Japan. At the event, he donated 100 million yen (about $690,000). and soccer player Yuto Nagatomo, Hikakin said he would donate all proceeds from YouTube videos he posted during the fundraising period. From May 21 to June 30, 216,295 people donated, bringing the total to about 370 million yen (about $2.55 million).

In 2021, he donated 5 million yen (about $31,000) worth of Super Chats to "Support for Preventing COVID-19 Medical Collapse (Yahoo! Fund)" after it failed to reach 10 million subscribers. He also donated 10 million yen of his own (about $63,000).

In March 2022, 11 years after the Great East Japan Earthquake, sales of the Line stamp "3.11 Things I can do in the future" sold by Yahoo! Japan and Line as part of a joint project to support the reconstruction of areas affected by the earthquake, and to raise awareness of disaster prevention, reached 121,032,20 yen (about $77,000), all of which was donated to prevent the disaster from fading and to support future generations.

In December 2022, the organization donated five million yen each to the , an accredited non-profit organization, and the . In 2023, he donated one million yen to the relief effort following the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes. In 2024, he donated 10 million yen each to the areas affected by the 2024 Noto earthquake and the Hualien earthquake.

On August 7, 2026, he posted a video on his YouTube channel announcing a 20-million-yen (about $126,740) donation to the areas affected by the 2026 Kumamoto earthquake. The donation consisted of 10 million yen from his company, Bee, and another 10 million yen from his personal funds.

Personal life In July 2018, Hikakin adopted a male Scottish Fold cat named Maruo (まるお), and in September, he adopted Maruo's brother, Mofuko (もふこ). He has liked cats since he was a child and had been thinking about getting one for a year.

On August 1, 2023, a video was released of his new two-billion-yen ($13 million) rental home. This is Hikakin's first house, which has an indoor heated pool and a 71-tatami living room . He said this is his second base, leaving his previous home behind.

On January 1, 2024, Hikakin announced his marriage on his channel. On August 1 of the same year, he announced the birth of his first child. He said his wife was pregnant when he announced his marriage announcement in January, but he refrained from announcing the pregnancy at the time because he felt it would be a burden to his wife, both mentally and physically.

On January 19, 2025, he announced in a video that he had been diagnosed with eosinophilic sinusitis, a designated intractable disease, and had undergone surgery. The video showed his hospitalization, surgery, and post-discharge episodes. On June 28, 2026, he announced on his YouTube channel he had moved house for the first time in eight years, and showed his new home. He also announced the house he had rented in 2023 for two billion yen would be used for filming purposes.

On August 9, 2026, on his YouTube channel, he announced his second child had been born. He said while the pregnancy had been confirmed in January of that year, and the birth had occurred in July, he had waited to release the video until "some time had passed since the delivery and both mother and child were healthy and stable".

Filmography Film

Television

Dub

Video games

Music videos YearTitleArtist(s)Role2017"On My Way"Tiësto featuring Bright SparksHimself 2025"Moshimonogatari"Tani Yuuki

Accolades YearCeremonyCategoryResult202010th Streamy AwardsInternational 202212th Streamy Awards

Publications Single author

(July 19, 2013, Housewife and Lifesha) (October 30, 2014, Nikkei BP)