Yuru-chara Grand Prix 2016 1st day part 2

みきゃん ダークみきゃん アイキャッチ画像

[Introduction]

I traveled to Matsuyama, the capital of Ehime Prefecture, for 4 days and 3 nights. The main purpose of this trip was to watch Yuru-chara Grand Prix 2016 on the last 2 days. My favorite Milan, which is the mascot character of Ehime Prefecture, did not participate in the contest, but entertained other local mascot characters and the audience as a host of the event with Barysan, Imabari city’s mascot character. I also participated in a PR event for the Grand Prix and did some sightseeing. In this article, I will write about Yuru-chara Grand Prix 2016 1st day part 2 as part of Day 3.

[Visit Places (series of articles)]
* Day 1 (1) Yuru-chara Grand Prix PR event 1 (Okaido and Gintengai) 
* Day 1 (2) Yuru-chara Grand Prix PR event 2 (Ropeway street and Dogo Onsen) 
* Day 1 (3) Dogo Onsen (Light up)
* Day 2 (1) Mican Center at Ehime prefectural government office
* Day 2 (2) Ninomaru Historical Garden and Matsuyama Castle
* Day 2 (3) Matsuyama Castle (Light up)
* Day 3 (1) Yuru-chara Grand Prix 2016 1st day part 1
* Day 3 (2) Yuru-chara Grand Prix 2016 1st day part 2 [This article]
* Day 3 (3) Okaido (Bansuiso Villa and Saka no Ue no Kumo Museum etc.)
* Day 4 (1) Yuru-chara Grand Prix 2016 2nd day part 1
* Day 4 (2) Yuru-chara Grand Prix 2016 2nd day part 2
* Day 4 (3) Matsuyama City Station (Tram, Matsuchika Town etc.)

[Travel Date]
2016.11.03-06

[Main Part]

Yuru-chara Grand Prix

Following the previous post, I continued to watch Yuru-chara Grand Prix 2016. There wrre ambassador stage shows by Gunmachan and Kumamon, both of whom had won the grand prix in the past.

Ambassador stage (Gunmachan and Kumamon)

To begin with, Gunmachan’s stage was held. Gunmachan is the mascot character of Gunma prefecture and won the Yuru-chara Grand Prix  2014. Gunmachan1

Gunmachan2

Gunmachan3

Then, Kumamon’s stage.Kumamon1

Kumamon is one of the most famous Yuru-charas in Japan and won the Yuru-chara Grand Prix 2011.

His move was so fast and funny.Kumamon2

Kumamon3

Kumamon4

Kumamon also showed his cheerful dance.Kumamon dance1

Kumamon dance2

Kumamon dance3

After ambassador stages, there was PR time for spospnsor companies.ハッぴぃ ショッぴぃ フジッぴぃ

一六タルト ダークみきゃん

Mican and Dark Mican booth

Then, I moved to Mican and Dark Mican booth. I just came across Mican with aloha shirt.みきゃん1

Mican’s calendars were displayed in the booth.Mican calendar

Mican’s batch.Mican batch

Mican’s seal.Mican seal

When I got out of the booth, I found Dark Mican.Dark Mican1

Although Daek Mican was originally a villain character, he was quite popular among children.Dark Mican2

However, he hit his fans with his picopico hammer:)Dark Mican3

On the other hand, Mican kept to be a good man.Mican2

Mican3

Ambassador stage (Barysan)

There was another ambassador stage by Barysan.Barysan1

According to Barysan’s profile, his height is 150cm, his weight is 150kg and his waist circumference is 150cm.Barysan2

Barysan was bigger than other Yuru-charas, but his move was very comical.Barysan3

バリィさん4

After Barysan’s stage, I took a snap photo. You can seen how crowded the evenrt was.""

Yuru-chara sports festival

Yuru-chara sports festival was held at Shiroyama stage.国体 みきゃん1

Yuru-chara sports festival was planned to promote Nartional Sports Fesrtival which will be held in Ehime Prefecture next year. At Yuru-chara sports festival, local mascot characters competed each other in three events.

First of all, Mican advertised Ehime Nartional Sports Fesrtival.国体 みきゃん2

The first event of Yuru-chara sports festival was sumo.""

The second event was flying disk.香川県 うどん脳

The final event was relay.国体 みきゃん3

Mican made a trial run.国体 みきゃん4

This was a snap photo of Barysan.Barysan5

Now Yuru-chara sports festival was completed successfully.国体 みきゃん ダークみきゃん

Other snap photos

After Yuru-chara sports festival, there were not major events any more on the first day, so I took several snap photos. To beign with, I had a light meal.八幡浜ちゃんぽん1

This was Yawatahama Chanpon.八幡浜ちゃんぽん2

Here are several snap photos of local mascot characters.ゆたま王子(道後プリンスホテル)

すわんけん(くまもと禁煙推進フォーラム)とメル助(メニコン)

なーしくん(愛媛県南宇和郡愛南町)

しまばらん(長崎県島原市)

とべっち(愛媛県砥部町)、ゆりぼう(愛媛県久万高原町)

ゆりぼう(愛媛県久万高原町)、かみりん(愛媛県上島町商工会青年部)、きほくん(愛媛県鬼北町役場)

Mican and Dark Mican booth

Now it was about ending time of the event. I decided to visit Mican and Dark Mican booth again, and found there were lots of visitors around it.

I somehow took some pictures of Mican and Dark Mican.Mican4

Dark Mican4

Finally, Mican and Dark Mican left the site.みきゃん 松山城

Dark Mican5

Now the first day of Yuru-chara Grand Prix 2016 was over.""

""

[Closing]

That’s it for the article about Yuru-chara Grand Prix 2016 1st day part 2 as part of Day 3. The past champions participated in the event as ambassadors and I understood why they were popular. In particular, I was impressed with Kumamon’s performance. He was a real entertainer 🙂

In the next article, I will write about Okaido (Bansuiso Villa and Saka no Ue no Kumo Museum etc.), which I visited in the evening.

[Map]

[Related Link]
The official Website of Tourism Matsuyama


2 Comments

  1. 久しぶりにコメント書かせていただきます。
    怒涛の日々を過ごしながら、kosuさんのブログを訪れたいなと思っていましたが、驚くほどかなり長い月日が流れてしまいました。
    やはり、癒されます。そしてゆるキャラグランプリのおかげで愛媛の写真が多く、嬉しくなりました(笑)
    また時間があるときにはゆっくりお邪魔して癒されたいと思います。
    いつも素敵な写真をありがとうございます。

    1. michi315さん、こんばんわ〜。年末のお忙しい中、コメントありがとうございます!
      愛媛は何度訪れもいいですね。今回はゆるキャラグランプリがメインなので観光はあまりできませでしたが、伊予灘ものがたりに乗ったり、宇和島や内子に行ったりなど、まだまだ実現できていないことが残っていますので、また再訪したいと思っています。
      引き続きよろしくお願いします!

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