Iwate Pref. city mascot visits quake-hit city in Hyogo Pref.

Iwate Pref. city mascot visits quake-hit city in Hyogo Pref.

Takata-no-Yumechan, the official mascot of Rikuzentakata, a northeastern Japan city hit by the March 2011 quake-tsunami disaster, prays at a memorial monument at a park in Awaji, a Hyogo Prefecture city devastated by the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake, on Oct. 27, 2023.

Iwate Pref. city mascot visits quake-hit city in Hyogo Pref.

Iwate Pref. city mascot visits quake-hit city in Hyogo Pref.

Takata-no-Yumechan, the official mascot of Rikuzentakata, a northeastern Japan city hit by the March 2011 quake-tsunami disaster, offers flowers at a memorial monument at a park in Awaji, a Hyogo Prefecture city devastated by the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake, on Oct. 27, 2023.

Iwate Prefecture's Yumechan wins Japan's final mascot competition

Iwate Prefecture's Yumechan wins Japan's final mascot competition

Takata-no-Yumechan (C), the official mascot of Rikuzentakata in the northeastern Japan prefecture of Iwate, is announced as the winner of Japan's 10th and final "yuru-kyara" mascot competition in Takizawa in the prefecture on Oct. 4, 2020.

Iwate Prefecture's Yumechan wins Japan's final mascot competition

Iwate Prefecture's Yumechan wins Japan's final mascot competition

Takata-no-Yumechan, the official mascot of Rikuzentakata in the northeastern Japan prefecture of Iwate, is announced as the winner of Japan's 10th and final "yuru-kyara" mascot competition in Takizawa in the prefecture on Oct. 4, 2020.

Final edition of Japan mascot contest

Final edition of Japan mascot contest

Photo shows Takata-no-yumechan, a mascot from Rikuzentakata in Iwate Prefecture, on Oct. 3, 2020, the first day of a two-day contest to choose Japan's best "yuru-kyara" cuddly mascot in Takizawa in the northeastern Japan prefecture. With 691 contenders participating, the annual event aimed at boosting regional economies will end this year.