Yuru-chara Grand Prix 2016 1st day part 2

[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.

Then, Kumamon’s stage.

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.

Kumamon also showed his cheerful dance.

After ambassador stages, there was PR time for spospnsor companies.

Mican and Dark Mican booth

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

Mican’s calendars were displayed in the booth.

Mican’s batch.

Mican’s seal.

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

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

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

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

Ambassador stage (Barysan)

There was another ambassador stage by Barysan.

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

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

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.

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.

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

The second event was flying disk.

The final event was relay.

Mican made a trial run.

This was a snap photo of Barysan.

Now Yuru-chara sports festival was completed successfully.

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.

This was Yawatahama Chanpon.

Here are several snap photos of local mascot characters.

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.

Finally, Mican and Dark Mican left the site.

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