One of the things I love about Japan is how personified everything is. It seems that every good or service (including government services) requires its own adorable mascot, and walking down the street you can quickly lose count of the cute faces greeting you on signs every five feet or so.

It was originally my plan to document every cute character I came across for a few days, but that task quickly proved too daunting. In any case, here are a few just from the past day or so in Nagoya.

A “card” character featured in the current promotions for the department store Parco

mascot_parco

Also at Parco, this little deer has been my favorite so far.

mascot_shikato

These are some kind of plant I think? I’m not sure, but they’re cute.

mascot_tsukushinbo

This giraffe wants you to use Nanaco, which is some kind of “card service,” I think.

mascot_nanaco

Of course, Toyota has its own cuddly animals hawking their cars.

mascot_toyota

And finally, the police get a mascot too!

mascot_police

Our travel plans have changed a bit, so we’re heading off for a few days in Okinawa tomorrow morning. (Yesterday I managed to buy a bathing suit in Japan, if you can believe it.) Probably no internet for real this time. So I’ll be back when I’m back!

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