Kumamon!

Hello!

Today, I am going to introduce an adorable city I visited last year in Japan: Kumamoto. (熊本市)

I will especially focus on the most famous landmark and the most sparkling star in Kumamoto. Enjoy them!

[Where is Kumamoto?]

First of all, you might ask,"where is Kumamoto?"

Kumamoto is a city located on the Kyushu Island.(九州) Its weather is similar to that of Tainan during summer, which is hot and humid.

[Kumamoto Castle]

Kumamoto Castle,(熊本城) built in the 1600s, is the most famous landmark in Kumamoto.

(sources: http://www.japanspecialist.co.uk/travel-tips/japans-castles/)

It is said that this castle is considered to be one of the three premier historic castles in Japan. The other two are Himeji Castle(姬路城) and Matsumoto Castle.(松本城)

However, some parts of the Kumamoto Castle collapsed during the earthquake in 2016. Thus, I could only took a photo of the castle at a far distance.  

[Kumamon: the sparkling star]

The reason why I considered this city adorable is because of the cute Kumamon.(熊本熊)

So, who is Kumamon?

(sources: https://www.pinterest.com/anchaleesea/kumamon/)

There is no denying that Kumamon is the most famous mascot in Japan, or perhaps in the world. It is created by the government in 2010 in order to promote tourism and improve their economy.

When strolling in the city, you can see Kumamon everywhere, including the train station and most of the products sold in many tourist attractions.

Kumamon in the rain

Kumamon in the train station

  

Kumamon is so famous that he has his own office, which is located in Tsuruya Department Store(鶴屋百貨)in Kumamoto.

Believe it or not, he also has a working schedule and office hours!

Kumamon's office

I like Kumamon so much since he is really cute and he sometimes acts like a stupid child.😂

(source: https://www.facebook.com/pg/Kumamon.Kawaii/photos/?ref=page_internal)

In fact, I went to Kumamon's office during his office hour last year and enjoyed his show though most of the audiences are children....

     

In my opinion, Kumamon is a great success of the promotion of the tourism. Actually Taiwan also has our own mascot bear similar to Kumamon, which is called "Oh Bear."

(source: http://www.appledaily.com.tw/realtimenews/article/new/20150518/612264/)

I think creating a world-known mascot is a smart way to promote tourism, just like the Kumamoto government did. Otherwise, our "Oh Bear" seems to be on a vacation for the entire year compared to the busy Kumamon....

But before that, I guess it is better to make our Oh Bear look more friendly or perhaps more hmm...? 

(source:http://www.tsta-bj.org/Article.aspx?sNo=03001431)

Thank you for spending your precious time reading my blog!

Do you also like Kumamon?

Any suggestion to our own "Oh Bear"? 

Feel free to share any of your opinion:)

(source: https://www.facebook.com/pg/Kumamon.Kawaii/photos/?ref=page_internal)