Learning from mascots

When Otaki town in Chiba Prefecture were creating their town mascot, Ottaki, local students got to vote on his design. However, only after they had learned about Otaki town's history. The town incorporated learning into his development. But, not only are the creation of mascots an opening for learning more about a town or city, encountering them becomes an education too.

Take the example of the mascot pictured in this post, Potekuma, a portmanteau of poteto for potato and kuma for bear. He is the mascot of Chichibu city (Saitama Prefecture). He is a bear-fairy hybrid, designed to look like a potato with sauce on his head. Miso sauce to be specific. The reason: miso potato is a specialty of the city he represents. I have live in Saitama for many years, have visited Chichibu countless times, but until I met Potekuma I had no idea that Chichibu was famous for miso potato! 

There are countless examples of things I have personally learned about a city or town simply from their mascots. I have written about a few of them, such as Isumi town's Isumin who is responsible for me associating the town with shrimp, rice and pears. They were designed as a fun promotional too, but they are fun educational tool too! Have you learned anything about a region from their town mascots?