Elaborate mascots, a town effort

Mascots are big in Japan! Each village, town and city have one. There are mascots for businesses and services too. Even the military have mascots. But not all mascots are created equally! Some are more elaborate than others. When thinking of elaborate mascots, I instantly thought of Ottaki.

Ottaki is the mascot of Otaki town in Chiba. I 'met' him in Ikebukuro station about eight years ago. I like him, he's one of the cuter ones in my humble opinion. Moreover, he is very detailed, carrying a castle on his head! The castle is a replica of Otaki Castle, which the town is known for. In addition, the rest of his outfit carries symbols of other things the town is famous for. Overall, his appearance is based on Honda Takakatsu, a warrior with ties to the town.

According to the Otaki town website, Ottaki was designed by a local. Furthermore, local elementary school and junior high school students elected his design by vote, and they contributed to the symbolism on his outfit. In addition, they gave him his name, "Ottaki".  The birth of the elaborate Ottaki, mascot of Otaki, was very much a town effort.