Gotouchi Character Festival in Sumida 2019

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.

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1 Comment

  1. Hi Chris!

    You have a very interesting blog, i love it! Thank you for taking the time and helping me understand the whole mascot theme here in Japan.

    I’m from Canada and I’m currently here in Hakodate trying to get my own little mascot thing going.
    So far it’s been going pretty good, but after reading your words I’ve come to understand I’ve still got a lot of work to do.

    Thank you and keep up the hard work!

    -Romey

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