Tsurugon, the friendly dragon mascot of Tsurugashima City

I love dragon anything in Japan, so its only natural that I have a soft spot for dragon themed mascots too! One of Kawagoe city's neighboring cities has a fun dragon mascot called "Tsurugon". It is the mascot of Tsurugashima City. I would speculate the reason is to represent one of their festivals; the rain praying Suneori Amagoi Festival, where a massive dragon is paraded through the streets.

I think Tsurugon is probably my children's favorite mascot, whether they know it or not. The reason I say this is because of the way they used to hug him when they were little, while they would shy away from other mascots. There is something very approachable about him! They made his face very friendly with a cheerful expression and he is cartoonish green with a round body, small wings, and striped horns. 

He's been popular in Saitama Prefecture for many years, but he made national fame in 2020, when he came third place in Japan's, now discontinued, major "Yuru-chara" (also written yuru-kyara) grand prix. The Yuruchara Grand Prix was an iconic annual Japanese popularity contest for adorable, quirky mascots (yuru-chara) representing cities, companies, and regions, decided by public voting. Placing in it did a lot for local tourism for the cities of the winning mascots.