gotouchichara

[gotouchichara]

hello! do you still use this blog? regardless, I hope you are having a lovely day!

Hello! Sorry, I don't have plans on updating this blog anymore. It was a fun few years, but I have moved on to different things. I'm glad people are still enjoying it!

[gotouchichara]

Hi,i want to send a new year card to Takatano Yumechan,but i cant find the adress 😐 can you help me?

Hi, sorry for the late reply! Takata no Yume-chan's address is:

Takata no Yume-chan Kibō no Ipponmatsu no ue 176-6 Sunamori, Kesenchō Rikuzentakata-shi Iwate-ken 029-2204 Japan

Or in Japanese script:

〒029-2204陸前高田市気仙町砂盛176-6 希望の一本松の上 たかたのゆめちゃん

[gotouchichara]

Hi, I would like to know the address of Samurai Tamabe, the baseball team mascot. Thank you~

Hello! Sorry for the very late reply. I can't seem to find a postal address for them, sorry! I don't think they do new year's postcards.

[gotouchichara]

hello, i wanted to ask if mascots were still taking postcards this year for new year's (i know the blog's not as active these days but i still appreciate all the mascot content)!

Hi! Sorry I haven't checked the notifications in ages, and didn't post about new year's postcards this year. They were still accepting postcards, although globally there are many delays and restrictions with post. I sent a few but have not received any replies this time, mainly due to Japan Post not accepting airmail destined for Ireland right now. I found via Twitter that two attempted replies were returned to the senders.

So if you did send anything this year, maybe they did receive it, but depending on what country you're in you may have trouble getting a reply...

[gotouchichara]

is 2020 really the last year we will have the Yurukyara Grand Prix?? I'm shaking just thinking about it (T_T)

Hi! Yes, that’s what’s they have been saying for the past couple of years anyway. Interest in the Grand Prix has been waning for some years now. It doesn’t mean yuru-chara are going away anytime soon though!

[gotouchichara]

Unfortunately this was languishing in my draft queue for over a year, but @azflashjp was reflecting on the end of the Heisei era in Japan (1989-2019), where over the latter half of the era we saw the start of the yuru-chara craze:

Hikonyan (2006) from Hikone, Shiga: The start of the “yuru-chara boom”

Kumamon (2010) from Kumamoto Prefecture: The real catalyst that led to the proliferation of yuru-chara throughout the country

Funassyi (2012) from Funabashi, Chiba: The yuru-chara for the real fans, some extremely dedicated!

The Reiwa era (which started in May last year) is certainly posing new challenges for yuru-chara. Although the numbers of local characters in Japan is certainly on the decline, and the Yuru-Chara Grand Prix comes to a close this year, many of the more established mascots still have a healthy fan base - even in these challenging times where no one has been able to meet most of them for months. There still seems to be a place for this abundance of mascots in Japan, just maybe without the excesses and madness of the past decade.

今日が平成最後の日ということで、平成にヒットしたゆるキャラの写真。

「ひこにゃん」がゆるキャラの扉を開き、「くまモン」が日本全国へ本格的に展開をし、「ふなっしー」は熱狂的なファンを生むこととなりました。

これらのキャラは海外のイベントに進出したりもしていますが、令和の時代に彼らはどうなっていくでしょうか。

“Hikonyan“,”Kumamon“ and “Funassyi“, Japan.

—————————

Below is automatic translation.

Today is a day at the Heisei end. A picture of the YURU character which came into fashion the time of the Heisei is put. “Hikonyan” a door of the YURU character was opened. “Kumamon” but it developed in earnest to a various part of Japan. “Funassyi” is going to bear an enthusiastic fan. These character is also going into an overseas event, but what would happen to them the time of Reiwa?

[gotouchichara]

Nyaozane is the mascot of Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture; and some sort of cat. The rugby gear was a recent addition, as Kumagaya was one of the host cities to the Rugby World Cup in 2019.

At the World Character Summit in Hanyū, 2018.11.24~25

[gotouchichara]

アライッペ

2019年2月17日13:58

[gotouchichara]

【ゆるキャラ】さのまる（栃木県佐野市）

佐野ラーメンが全国的に知られているのが、栃木県佐野市。 さのまるが手に持っているのは串カツではなく、地元のグルメである「いもフライ」。

“Sanomaru“ Sano city in Tochigi.

[gotouchichara]

Gozuccho is a cross between a swan and Mount Goza, and is the mascot of Agano city, Niigata Prefecture.

At the World Character Summit in Hanyū, 2018.11.24~25

[gotouchichara]

Melsuke (メル助) is mascot of contact lens manufacturer Menicon. A kappa in Japanese folklore normally has a small "dish" containing water on their head, but Melsuke appears to have a contact lens instead.

【ゆるキャラ】メル助（メニコン）

コンタクトレンズで知られるメニコンのマスコットキャラ。 最近は定額制でコンタクトレンズを使用できるメルスプランがある。

“Merusuke“ Menicon Co., Ltd, Aichi prefecture, Japan.

[gotouchichara]

Tanamin, Oujichama, and Zaosama.

At the World Character Summit in Hanyū, 2018.11.24~25

[gotouchichara]

Chiitan making new friends.

At the World Character Summit in Hanyū, 2018.11.24~25

[gotouchichara]

Yuru-Chara Grand Prix 2020 update (week 1)

After a strong start by Yurunakin [3], Takata no Yume-chan [1] took the lead after a few days and now has a significant lead. Yurunakin/Inunakin was one of the characters caught up in the organized voting scandal in 2018, the fact they seem to be getting a lot of votes despite not having much support on social media suggests they may be up to their old tricks, but I could be wrong. It has also been customary since 2015 for all three podium winners to not re-enter, yet they’re here again even though they got second place last year (3rd place Korō-kun did not re-enter). Needless to say, I am not a fan...

For the corporate/other mascots, VTuber Kōkaryū Ninja Ponpoko [5] has taken a massive lead, surpassing Yume-chan by nearly double the amount of votes (although they do not compete with gotōchi chara directly). This is despite the fact that as a yuru-chara they haven’t appeared to have done much, e.g. public appearances (granted that’s been difficult this year) - the only decent picture I could find is from the costume manufacturer’s website!

Anyway, here are the gotōchi (local) rankings as of 8th July:

Takata no Yume-chan (たかたのゆめちゃん) from Rikuzentakata, Iwate - 16.4k votes [1]

Yurunakin (ゆるナキン) from Izumisano, Osaka - 9.7k votes [3]

Tsurugon (つるゴン) from Tsurugashima, Saitama - 8k votes [2]

Toyonon (とよのん) from Toyono, Osaka - 5.6k votes

Midomosu (みどモス) from Midori, Gunma - 4.5k votes

Echigon (みどモス) from Kashiwazaki, Niigata - 4.3k votes

Takinomichi Yuzuru (滝ノ道ゆずる) from Minoh, Osaka - 3.9k votes

Kyabettsu-san (キャベッツさん) from Nishitokyo, Tokyo - 3.8k votes

Saigo Tsun (西郷つん) from Satsumasendai, Kagoshima - 3.2k votes (note: actually a dog in case you’re wondering)

Omapyon (おおまぴょん) from Ōmachi, Nagano - 3.1k votes [4]

Don’t forget you can vote once a day until 10th November! See my instructions here.

Image sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

[gotouchichara]

I haven’t been posting much recently, but not much has been happening either! Besides the start of the this year’s (and the last!) Yuru-Chara Grand Prix last week, there has been very little yuru-chara activity in Japan for the past few months due to the ongoing pandemic. Most public appearances were cancelled, including large events like the Gotōchi Character Festival in Sumida in May.

Some characters have started appearing again recently, like Otaru Ungappa pictured a couple of weeks ago with his “bodyguards” enforcing strict social distancing.

Others have just been staying at home, or spending more time on social media. For example Shinjo-kun has been playing The Last of Us Part II on YouTube (many of his videos have English subtitles). And after many years of resisting, Gunma-chan started Twitter and Instagram accounts in May.

Fukkachan’s birthday is usually one of the highlights of the summer, but this year they had a “remote party” on Instagram instead.

[gotouchichara]

What are some good ways to interact with Japanese mascots? Do they like to hug? Or to most of them prefer a simple picture and wave? What're some tips for memorable interaction?

Good question, thanks! Of course, right now they are generally not doing public appearances, but I’m sure things will be back to normal eventually...

Not pictured: The massive queue of people waiting to get pictures taken with Kapal - as the Yuru-Chara Grand Prix winner that year, they were in high demand. At the big events (this was at the World Character Summit in Hanyu 2018), the more popular mascots can be on tight schedules so may have a specific time of the day where you can get pictures taken with them. If they’re not too busy and not surrounded by a crowd, you can usually ask their assistants to take a photo for you - you can see above they’re wearing yellow happi coats.

Regarding hugging, generally I think it’s OK but the bigger events tend to be very busy so be careful of your surroundings and be considerate of others trying to take photos (there will be many!), and maybe check with their assistants where possible. A lot of them will be up for a high five too (ハイタッチ, ”high touch” in Japanese). Some have limited movement or poor vision, so be mindful of that.

Also, their assistants are usually more than willing to hand out free things (note: not everything pictured above was free), such as business cards (名刺, meishi), stickers, badges, and bags of stuff (usually mostly tourism brochures or advertising material). Yuru-Chara Toreka (trading cards) may also be available in limited numbers. At the large events there will be plenty of merchandise for sale too. You can buy business card holders easily enough in Japan if you’re planning on collecting a lot (in places that sell stationery, like Tokyu Hands, Loft, etc.).

Hope this helps!

[gotouchichara]

The Yuru-Chara Grand Prix 2020 “THE FINAL” has begun, and public voting started this month. You can browse the current rankings here, and see instructions on how to vote here.

The Yuru-Chara Grand Prix is where the public get to vote for the most popular mascot. Gotōchi-chara (local mascots) and corporate or other mascots can enter as long as they meet the criteria for being a yuru-chara.

This has been running since 2011, and previous winners include Kumamon,  Sanomaru, Shinjō-kun and Kapal. It was announced a few years ago that 2020 would be the last year of the Grand Prix, to coincide with the Tokyo Olympics... well, this year hasn’t exactly gone to plan, but the Yuru-Chara Grand Prix still marches on.

This year’s schedule:

1st April: Open for entries

24th June: Deadline for entries

1st July: Public voting starts

25th September: Public voting ends

3rd-4th October: Run-off voting and awards ceremony in Takizawa, Iwate Prefecture

Surprisingly, the awards event was confirmed yesterday. The largely rural prefecture of Iwate chosen for the location has so far had zero confirmed coronavirus cases.

Some characters of interest:

Takata no Yume-chan (たかたのゆめちゃん) from Rikuzentakata, Iwate - increased interest in yuru-chara and the Grand Prix started amidst the aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, and Yume-chan was created in 2012 to represent the hopes and dreams of the people of one of the most devastated cities of the disaster. (highest rank: 49th in 2012)

Omapyon (おおまぴょん) from Ōmachi, Nagano - the Japanese serow with a mountain on their head hopes to do better than last year’s 11th place and will hopefully get the support from fans their “brothers” Tochisuke and Susonon.

Kōkaryū Ninja Ponpoko (甲賀流忍者ぽんぽこ) - the Virtual YouTuber is normally some sort of half-girl, half-tanuki (raccoon dog), but also physically appears as a costumed yuru-chara tanuki. Her “brother”(?) Peanuts-kun won the Grand Prix last year for corporate/other mascots. I’m still very confused by this whole VTuber thing... (new entry)

The popularity and relevance of the Yuru-Chara Grand Prix has been waning in recent years, and many well-known local characters have gained their popularity by other means so have not returned. I really don’t know if something interesting could happen this year, but I’ll still try and follow it, one last time!

Image sources: 1, 2, 3, 4