Chippa-kun (mascot of Kids Dom Park) and Matsudo-san.

In a remote part of Chiba Prefecture there’s an adventure park called Kids Dom, and last Sunday they held a mascot event called the Gotouchi-chara Dai-Undokai (Local Mascots’ Big Sports Festival). This get-together attracted more than eighty mascots and entailed various competitive games such as an epic relay race and a balloon-popping contest. Presiding over the event was Kids Dom’s curious birdlike yellow mascot, Chippa-kun. Popular yuru-chara in attendance included Fukkachan, Kimipyon, Chiba-kun, and Hanipon, and there was a rare appearance from the Japanese national baseball team’s mascot, Samurai Tamabe, a samurai with a baseball/bear hybrid head.

Fukkachan (Welsh onion-eared mascot of Fukaya City) and Kimipyon (azalea-eared pink creature from Kimitsu City).

Lookalikes, Narashido and Kitamin

Arukuma, the apple-headed rambling bear from Nagano Prefecture

Samurai Tanabe, the mascot for Japan’s national baseball team

Sacchan, mascot of Ichikai Town

Jeffy, mascot for the soccer team, Jef United Chiba

Gentle Parco, a fancy frog who is the mascot for a shopping street in Yashio City.

Anebon, the mascot of Ichihara City, is a temple bell who hits himself with a squeaky hammer.

Damedosu

P-Nyatsu, the cat/peanut

Hanipon

Kyarotsuta the horse, mascot of Funabashi Racecourse.

Fuuta-kun the red panda (Chiba Zoo mascot) takes part in a balloon-bursting contest.