These days, “yuru-kyara” mascots, like Funassyi or Kumamon, are very popular among people of all age and they have a significant economic effect on their locals. I live in Saitama Prefecture and there is also “yuru-kyara” mascot. The mascot name is “Kobaton”. He is a bird and the bird, Shirakobato, is the symbol of Saitama Prefecture. He has been active in a lot of area of Saitama Prefecture and recently he appeared on TV as a weather caster’s assistant. I also saw him in my high school when he was invited by my high school as a guest of the school festival. At that time, children were overjoyed to see him and followed him all day. He is not popular among other prefectures but he plays an important role to liven up local events. I hope that more “yuru-kyara” mascots become famous, and we can learn a lot of good things in their areas from them after this.

http://image.search.yahoo.co.jp/search?p=%E3%81%8F%E3%81%BE%E3%83%A2%E3%83%B3+%E3%82%B3%E3%83%90%E3%83%88%E3%83%B3&aq=-1&oq=&ei=UTF-8#mode%3Ddetail%26index%3D6%26st%3D139