The mascot for Air Do (an airline based in Hokkaido, Japan) is Bear Do, a friendly polar bear.

Mochi Mochi Panda is a panda-like creature that is squishy like mochi (rice cake), but is neither a panda nor a rice cake.

Koapyon, a bear in a bunny costume, is the mascot for the village of Kamikoani in Akita Prefecture.

Koritan, a blue bird stationmaster decorated with cherry blossoms and musical notes, is the mascot for Koriyama Railway Station.

Nahanyan, a railway worker black cat, is the mascot for the Kamakura Rolling Stock Center (Nakahara Branch), who fix and maintain trains.

Sutamu-chan, an angel of good fortune from the Milky Way, is the mascot of Ogawamachi, Saitama. Sutamu-chan’s body is a piece of the traditional handmade paper the town is known for, decorated with bamboo leaves and stars from the Tanabata star festival held there each summer.

Shirakawan, the mascot of Shirakawa City, is a white dog with distinctive eyebrows based on those of Shirakawa’s traditional lucky Daruma dolls. The city’s flower, the plum blossom, is on its chest.

A cheerful soil fairy born from the fertile soil of Samegawa Village, Fukushima, Yuuki-kun has a sprout growing on his head and grows big by feeding on everyone's smiles. He wants to see the sprouts on his head bloom into flowers.

Yamappi, the mascot of Yamatsuri Town, Fukushima, wears both a hat made of yuzu (a locally-grown fruit) and a pouch featuring the Kuji River and the sweetfish caught there.

Regional mascots throwing beans to ward off demons at the annual Setsubun festival in Tobu Ikebukuro department store in Tokyo.

Rinrin-chan, the tourism mascot for Tokyo’s Itabashi Ward, is a fairy of the ward’s official flower, the “flaccid anemone”. His special skill is photosynthesis.

Musashi Ranmaru, a naughty boy in a butterfly helmet, is the mascot for the scenic town of Arashiyama in Saitama.

Dali-chan, a bright and energetic dahlia fairy, is the mascot of Hanawa Town, Fukushima Prefecture, where dahlias are cultivated.

Tamagotchi character kuchipatchi was in the Harajuku Tamagotchi Factory today.

Kasumigaunya, a white cat, is the mascot for Kasumigaura City, home to Japan’s second largest lake. The lake is on his head, and his ears are sailboats.

Vanimaru, 5-year-old accident-prone Prince of the Vanilla Kingdom, is the mascot for Yokohama Vanilla, who make delicious salted vanilla financiers.

Koita-kun the octopus and Meika-chan the squid are a couple, and they’re the mascots for the Shiranuka-Kotoi roadside rest stop in Hokkaido.

Ahman is an Akita Inu hero dog with a big face. An unofficial mascot of Akita Prefecture, his motto is "hot heart, calm head, loose body". He hits himself in the head with a plastic mallet.

Hokkun is a minimalistic orange mascot from Shimonoseki City, inspired by the oranges and sunsets there.

Nebutan is a lively boy who can withstand the wind and snow of Aomori City, where he’s the mascot. He’s styled like a float from Aomori’s annual Nebuta festival.

Nikko Kamen is a laid-back superhero who promotes Nikko City. Once a worn-out, middle-aged salaryman in the city, he decided to return to his more relaxing hometown of Nikko and become Nikko Kamen.

Miruhii is a starry-eye cow from Nashiobara City, a place known for milk production.

Stamina Kenta-kun, whose head is a delicious gyoza dumpling, promotes Kenta Gyoza restaurants in Utsunomiya City, Tochigi Prefecture.

Honetsuki Juju, a man with a chicken leg for a head and who carries a turtle around, is the mascot of Marugame City.

Iwashika-chan, a pink deer with pickled ginger antlers, is the mascot of Iwashita New Ginger Museum in Tochigi City.

Nebaaru-kun the stretchy natto fairy is a mascot for Ibaraki Prefecture.

Tambaryuu No Chi-tan, a dinosaur whose stripes are layers of rock with fossils inside, is the mascot for Tamba City, where dinosaur bones were dug up.

Sabi-chan is a big-eyed wasabi fairy from Shizuoka, Japan.

Yokojiro (mascot for the town of Ochi, in Kochi Prefecture) is a Japanese white-eye bird with a cedar tree on his chest and a hat shaped like the local mountain. The flower in his teeth is a gift for his wife.

Takata no Yume-chan the star fairy is the mascot of Rikuzentakata City.

Kamosy, a train conductor serow (Japanese goat-antelope), is the mascot for JR Takasaki Station.

Tenga Robo is a robot who can transform into a Tenga sex toy. (They were promoting them in Shinjuku, Tokyo.)

Rojiura No Kaori is an enka-singing alleycat from Naniwa, Osaka.

Rapping dog PaRappa the Rapper, ‘90s PlayStation game character, in Tokyo

Taputapu is a lively and optimistic panda with a huge face, and he appears in picture books and anime.

The mascot for the town of Yamakita, in Kanagawa Prefecture, is Degonii, who has a steam locomotive on his head.

This Tokyo subway poster warning passengers not to rush onto trains gets updated every year to match the Chinese zodiac. (This year it’s the year of the horse.)

Lalapi, the mascot for Life Supermarket, is a fairy of the Life tribe and comes from Happy Island, which floats in a sea of smiles.

“Juratic” is a trio of dinosaurs who are tourism ambassadors for Fukui Prefecture, where lots of dinosaur remains have been excavated.

The ocean-themed mascot Hoya Boya, from Kesenuma City, wears a scallop belt, a sharkskin cloak, and a sea squirt helmet, and he uses a Pacific saury as a sword.

Oshinari-kun, a 9th Century poet with a tower on his head, is the mascot for the Oshinari Shopping Street in Tokyo.

Duolingo mascot Duo the owl at a pop-up in Shibuya, Tokyo

Santa Claus Pikachu at the Shibuya Pokemon Center in Tokyo

Mascots Sanchawan and Ga-yan from Setagaya, Tokyo, looking festive

The towering Lerch-san, mascot for Niigata Prefecture, is based on Theodor Von Lerch, an Austro-Hungarian who introduced skiing to Japan in 1911.

A hybrid of a camellia flower and a traditional daruma doll, Ofunaton is the mascot of Ofunato City, Iwate Prefecture. He denies being a pig.

Sanudon the udon noodle fairy, whose eyebrows are based on a mountain, promotes Sanuki udon from Kagawa, Japan.

Tonyu-kun the soy milk carton sings through his forehead.

Christmassy characters gathered in Asakusa, Tokyo, today.

Capicle, a pink alien in a car, is the mascot for the Tokyo Used Car Sales Association.