Tag: weird

Last month I went to the annual Gotochi Character Festival in Sumida, Tokyo, which took place in three spots around the base of the Tokyo Sky Tree (Japan’s tallest tower). About 100 mascots from all over Japan came to the event, and I took lots of pictures. Among the highlights for me were appearances from the brand new mascots Kitanyan (trendy cat mascot for Jujo Ginza shopping arcade in Tokyo) and Komikyan (a baby version of Mikyan, a dog/tangerine hybrid mascot from Ehime), as well as the final appearance of Yuzugappaa—the popular half-citrus fruit, half-kappa (a folkloric water imp) mascot of Kito, Tokushima, who is now going into “hibernation” for undisclosed reasons.

Gingiskan No Jin-kun, the lamb mascot from Hokkaido

Tochisuke the half-dog/half-warehouse mascot of Tochigi City

eccentric unofficial regional mascots Funassyi and Kikuchikun face off on stage.

Kumamon, the bear-like Monster mascot of Kumamoto Prefecture

Matagi no Momiji-chan the hunter-hunting pink deer

Bari-san, the giant chick mascot of Imabari City

Mikyan and Komikyan, tangerine puppies from Ehime Prefecture

Fukkachan, the mascot of Fukaya City, is a woodland creature with green onion antlers.

Kitanyan, the fashionable cat mascot for Jujo Ginza shopping arcade in Shinagawa, Tokyo

Udon Nou (a noodle-brained character from Kagawa) meets Yuzugappa (a hybrid of a kappa and a yuzu).

Shinjokun, the extinct otter with a bowl of noodles on its head, from Susaki City

Funassyi, the pear fairy from Funabashi, jumps for the crowd.

Kan-chan

Earlier this month I managed to catch a rare appearance by Kan-chan, the notorious “enema penguin” mascot of Ichijiku Pharmaceuticals. Ichijiku manufacture fig-based laxatives and enemas, so Kan-chan was not only designed to resemble an enema, but also made in the shape and colour of a fig. The addition of eyes, a beak, and feet give Kan-chan the cute factor required of all mascots.

I had been hoping to encounter Kan-chan for months, and I had previously planned to track the strange creature down at a pharmaceuticals expo late last year, but that event was cancelled due to rain. I was delighted when I discovered that Kan-chan would be appearing once again at a special Ichijiku event held at the foot of the famous towering structure, the Tokyo Sky Tree, so I hurried along before work.

Intestinal vending machine

In addition to meeting the bizarre mascot, visitors were also able to get free gifts in plastic capsules dispensed from a vending machine designed to look like an intestine. I won an exclusive Kan-chan key-ring, which I will treasure.

Kan-chan keyring

Tag: weird

Gotouchi Character Festival in Sumida 2019

Searching for Kan-chan