Taiwanese Oh Bear and Kumamon Make Their First Joint Appearance in Tokyo to Charm Fans

▲ Taiwan’s Oh Bear and Kumamon meet in Tokyo to jointly promote Taiwan-Japan tourism exchange. (Photo provided by the Tourism Bureau)

Reported by Chen Ruizhong / Compiled by staff

To sustain the tourism boom of Japanese visitors to Taiwan, Deputy Director-GeneralLiu Xilinof the Tourism Bureau led a 170-member domestic tourism industry delegation to Tokyo yesterday (September 24) to participate in Japan’s largest international travel expo, “Tourism EXPO Japan 2014,” where Taiwan’s tourism ambassador,Oh Bear,also made a special trip to Tokyo to meet the famous mascotKumamon.

In his speech at the pre-event briefing, Liu Xilin noted that CNN has selected Taiwan as one of the 12 must-visit travel destinations in 2014. Taiwanese cuisine has been shortlisted among the world’s most delicious desserts and top ten restaurants globally, while the UK’s Metro has recommended Taiwan’s cycling routes as being among the world’s top ten most beautiful — all of which showcase Taiwan’s charm and are well worth promoting to Japanese travelers.

In addition to exchanging the latest tourism information between Taiwan and Japan at the briefing, the Tourism Bureau’s Super Task Force mascot Oh Bear also made its Tokyo debut. Kumamon, who has visited Taiwan 10 times, was also present as a special guest and actively interacted with Oh Bear on stage, both using their adorable appearances to vigorously promote Taiwan-Japan tourism.