title: Who Are Nagi and Pokke? Tokyo's Working Goats and the JR Mascot Meme
description: Why are two goats eating weeds at Yotsuya Station? The October 2026 JR East trial, viral videos and the unofficial railway-mascot joke explained.
Nagi and Pokke are two real goats clearing weeds on railway property beside Yotsuya Station in Tokyo. JR East began the experiment on October 9, 2026. Nagi is a one-year-old male and Pokke a two-year-old female. The internet calls them railway employees and sometimes “official mascots,” but their confirmed assignment is to eat the grass.
Why are goats at a busy Tokyo station?
The pair graze below a pedestrian walkway near Yotsuya Station's Akasaka Exit. On October 19, JR East described the arrangement on its official X account as a trial of environmentally friendly weed control. Japanese television reported on October 21 that station staff suggested the idea and that it was the first such trial inside the Yamanote Line loop.
The joke practically writes itself: commuters rush past, while two workers calmly chew their way through a shift. What looks like a lunch break is their actual job.
Names, ages and end date
Nagi is the younger male, aged one; Pokke is a two-year-old female. SoraNews24's reporter playfully called Pokke Nagi's senior colleague. Japanese television said the work was planned through December but could finish sooner if the weeds ran out. A return after winter was mentioned as a possibility, not a confirmed booking.
How did the meme spread?
JR East posted photos on October 19. A Japanese news clip circulated on X on October 21; Know Your Meme recorded roughly 15,000 likes on a post sharing it by October 23. On October 23 an English-language post called the animals “the official mascots of JR,” while an Instagram repost received more than 6,000 likes in under a day, according to the same record. These are dated counts for individual posts, not a worldwide total.
Japanese coverage calls them working or weed-clearing goats. English posts use “Nagi and Pokke,” “working goats” and “JR mascots.” Thai-language reporting appeared on October 22. These examples show cross-language circulation, not equal popularity in every country.
Are they official mascots? How is the joke used?
The mascot title came from a social-media caption. JR East announced a weed-control trial, not an official mascot appointment. People share the footage with workplace captions about clocking in, Pokke mentoring the newcomer, or staff literally eating their workload. There is no fixed image template.
Visitors should watch from public walkways and avoid feeding the goats. JR asks people not to offer snacks, which could spoil the animals' appetite for the weeds they are meant to eat.
Conclusion
Nagi and Pokke became a meme because their genuine work resembles an office-life parody. Their names and duties are real; their grand job titles belong to the internet. These colleagues don't cross tasks off a list. They chew through it.
References (6)
- JR East official X, October 19
- Japanese television report, October 21
- SoraNews24 on-site report, October 20
- Japanese news clip on X
- English mascot joke post
- Know Your Meme record
Checked October 25, 2026. Engagement counts are third-party observations from October 23, not independently verified live counters.
