In my recent Japanese travels I came across 3 memorable characters, all of whom live vividly in my memories.

Japan is sitting on a personality goldmine and should make use of one of these figures as their ambassador to the world, like Paul Hogan to Australia, or Kylie Minogue to Britain. I will propose this to the Japanese government shortly,* but in the meantime I’d appreciate your opinion. Who should become the face of Japan?

Entry 1: Captain Ashtray Dancer

Baring his chest to the world, he proudly dances with his ashtray castanets on the helm of the Japanese mothership.

His boat is crewed by men in pink spandex gimp outfits with religious overtones, all of whom would be ready to welcome any lucky visitor into the country.

He is also an exquisite role model to the youth. As I’ve always said, “you can’t smoke if your hands are full of ashtrays.”

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Entry 2: Mr. Moustache

From gimps to pimps**, Mr. Moustache specialises in poodles and doodles. This mascot was discovered in the backstreets of Shinjuku in the famed “Golden Gai” area, surrounded by Love Hotels. ***

Like Entry 1, he comes with the support of his 9 sons, all available for rent.

**To be fair, this might actually be a hair salon.

***I was just looking for a hairdresser.

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Entry 3: Sento-Kun, the Boy Buddah

Already a powerful mascot in Japan, Sento-Kun represents Nara – Japan’s first capital, which rivals Kyoto for its spectacular temples and depiction of old school Japan.

This great shot from the Julie In Japan blog. http://tiny.cc/nlcoo

Sento-Kun is a fairly controversial figure already in Japan (you can read about that issue here), however he does clearly convert well to human form as you can see below.

Come to think of it, he does look like a young version of Captain Ashtray Dancer, with antlers.

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So choose wisely!

Captain Ashtray Dancer

Mr Moustache

or

The Boy Buddah

I shall take the results to the Japanese Minister for Tourism.*

*I won’t.