Hikonyan the cat helps Hikone Castle

Date: 2007 April 27 15:38

Posted by Joe

Everyone knows that cute stuff is popular in Japan. To celebrate the 400th anniversary of Hikone Castle in Shiga Prefecture they created a mascot cat called Hikonyan, a fat white cat wearing a samurai helmet sporting big yellow horns. According to The Mainichi Daily News, Hikonyan toured major cities and generated massive merchandise sales. Apparently people travel to Hikone Castle now just to see Hikonyan, who comes out four times a day to greet visitors, people are willing to wait for hours, lining up for the greeting sessions. The article states that part of Hikonyan's popularity is down to his vulnerability making him appealing to otaku.