Kumamon & Kumamoto castle

On the second day of our trip the weather turned against us. It was raining quite hard when we left the ryokan and most of the way into the city. We had a plan to visit this particular department store to see one of the most famous characters in Japan.

Someone came up with this idea of having a mascot in each city or prefecture. They are used in any form of souvenirs or products to promote locally produced items. Of them all Kumamon is very very popular and successful. He looks like this.

There is a set time we can meet live Kumamon but only limited number of people can see him each day. We were there quite early and waited about 40min before he showed up. The kids got the best spot and had lots of fun watching him dance and perform.

By the time we came out the weather cleared slightly. Unfortunately once we were in the car it started to rain again!!!! That meant missing out on our last stop - visiting the Kumamoto castle :(

We drove by it very quickly. We will come back and visit the castle next time for sure.

It was fun-filled two days. Thank you very much Mr and Mrs Fukushima for organising such a great trip.

We thoroughly enjoyed it.