#takata no yumechan

[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

[yurukyarayakusu]

ゆめはうち〜 福もうち〜 陸前高田でも豆まきやったよ〜♪♪♪

Come in, dreams〜 Come in, luck〜 I scattered beans on the Takata shorefront〜♪♪♪

[azflashjp]

【ゆるキャラ】たかたのゆめちゃん（岩手県陸前高田市）

2016年10月撮影

“Tatakano Yume-chan“ Rikuzen-takata city in Iwate Takatano-Yumechan’s Twitter https://twitter.com/takata_yumechan

[yurukyarayakusu]

ゆめゆめゆめゆめゆめちゃちゃちゃ〜んY(o≧ω≦o)Y お誕生日おめでとぉ〜♪ 今年もゆめいっぱいでおねぎしまぁす！ ほれっY(っo0ω0o)Yつ深谷ねぎ入りバースデイケーキY Y Y #過去のお写真

Yumeyumeyumeyumeyume-chachachaaaaaanY(o≧ω≦o)Y Happy birthday〜♪!! Have another year full of dreams! Wah— Y(っo0ω0o)Yつ A Fukaya negi birthday cake YYY #OldPhoto

[yurukyarayakusu]

ソワソワ… バレンタインだからってカッコつけすぎかな… あ！ はっぴーばれんたいん☆彡 

(fidgeting) I wonder if I dressed up too much for Valentine’s Day... Oh! Happy Valentine’s Day☆彡 

[yurukyarayakusu]

ふぁさ〜〜🍂🍃🍂

[yurukyarayakusu]

陸前高田は紅葉まっさかりっ♪

Rikuzen Takata is in the height of fall colors ♪

[yurukyarayakusu]

ゆめちゃんはミュージシャン♪

Yume-chan is a musician♪

[yurukyarayakusu]

きょうは雨の中ありがとっ♡ 

Today, thank you in the rain♡ 

[gotouchichara]

[gotouchichara]

Takata no Yume-chan’s birthday was on the 4th January, but they decided to have not one but two parties last week - one at Live & Bar Hugo in Adachi, Tokyo on the 11th (with Pandora-kun and Kappa no Kotarō); and also at home in Rikuzentakata on the 17th (with Ebecchan and Ōfunaton).

Image sources: 1, 2, 3

[gotouchichara]

Profile: Takata no Yume-chan (たかたのゆめちゃん)

Mascot of Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture Mascot of "Aid Takata" non-profit organization

Introduced: 4th January 2012 Gender: A mystery, as usual. (For the sake of English not working very well without pronouns, I will say "he") Name: "Yume" (夢) is dream, and "-chan" is a diminutive honorific suffix often used with children, between friends or with cute characters (you'll see -chan and -kun suffixes a lot with gotōchi-chara)

Appearance: Yume-chan has a star on his head, similar to the top of the seal of Rikuzentakata, and it is said to create a ray of hope which will lead children to a safe place. Wings allow Yume-chan to fly freely, and deliver dreams and happiness to everyone from his camellia flower bag (camellias being the official flower of the city). Ears are the image of the Takata-matsubara pine forest. Yume-chan usually wears a t-shirt which says "Rikuzentakata" in kanji (陸前高田), sometimes in different colours than the usual yellow.

It has been four years since the Great East Japan earthquake, but there are many places in the Tōhoku region where the recovery process still has a long way to go. Many people are still living in temporary housing, families and communities are displaced, people have lost their livelihoods (particularly in agriculture and fishing), and some may never be able to return home. Rikuzentakata was devastated by the earthquake and tsunami - 80% of homes were destroyed and about 1,600 lives were lost.

Above: Rikuzentakata in April 2011 (photo: Mitsukuni Sato)

And those pine trees of the Takata-matsubara forest? Of about 70,000 trees, only one remained standing:

(Image source)

The "miracle pine tree" or "ipponmatsu" (一本松, solitary pine tree) has become the other more well-known symbol of Rikuzentakata post-2011. Unfortunately the tree died from salt water poisoning in 2012 but has been preserved, along with the partially collapsed youth hostel behind it.

Above: Temporary housing in Rikuzentakata, February 2015 (source)

Work is under way to elevate the most vulnerable part of the city by about 10 metres, with help from the "Bridge of Hope" - a massive conveyor belt system that carries rock and other materials over the Kesen River to the city centre. A sea wall of nearly twice the previous height is also being built.

Takata no Yume-chan was created as a result of the "Yume Chara Project" (夢☆キャラプロジェクト), where the Aid Takata NPO took character submissions from around the country. 334 entries were received, and this was narrowed down to 13 characters which were presented to Rikuzentakata school students for voting. The winning design was by Maya Kitajima (北島茉也), a university student from Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture.

Hopefully mascots like Takata no Yume-chan will help people not forget about what happened four years ago, and raise awareness elsewhere in Japan that there are still people who need help.

Official website: http://www.yume-chara.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/takata_yumechan Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/takatanoyumechan YouTube: たかたのゆめちゃんねる☆彡 Aid Takata website: http://aidtakata.org Rikuzentakata City website: http://www.city.rikuzentakata.iwate.jp

NHK World documentary series "Tomorrow" (in English): http://www.nhk.or.jp/japan311/tomorrow/