Japan’s hottest mascot makes an appearance – Kumamon from Kumamoto does fitness aerobics at Shoushan Park

Reported and photographed by You T-Ru / Kaohsiung

Kumamon from Kumamoto appears in Kaohsiung！At 11 a.m. today (23rd), Kumamon, the super-popular bear mascot from Kumamoto Prefecture in Japan, showed up at Shoushan Zoo, attracting hundreds of people who specially came to queue up. On-site, Kumamon also joined forces with its “bear buddy” at Shoushan Zoo to jointly promote the animal adoption campaign and raise awareness about wildlife conservation.


▲Kumamon made an appearance to meet the public and performed an aerobic workout, drawing screams of excitement from both kids and adults.

During the meet-and-greet event, the “Super Animal” animal character troupe from Shoushan Zoo — “Big White Tiger” and “Bear Buddy” — first welcomed Kumamon as local hosts by handing out candy and greeting the crowd together. Kumamon then led fans in demonstrating the “Kumamon Fitness Aerobics,” shaking hips and dancing joyfully with both children and adults. The event concluded with a photo session where many attendees, both big and small, brought along Kumamon merchandise and happily participated.

To welcome Kumamon’s arrival, the tourism bureau also selected a Big Dapeng Mountain longan honey gift basket, and dressed Kumamon with a “Friend of Kaohsiung Shoushan Zoo” sash, symbolizing the friendly bond between Kumamoto Prefecture in Japan and Kaohsiung in Taiwan. Shoushan Zoo will also present Kumamon with an “Animal Adoption Card” to jointly promote the animal adoption campaign and wildlife conservation message.

This 3-night, 4-day goodwill trip by Kumamon is mainly aimed at familiarizing itself with the attractions in Kaohsiung. In addition to promoting local tourism, the most popular mascot from Japan, Kumamon, will also serve as a one-day Kaohsiung tourism ambassador, introducing more Japanese tourists to Kaohsiung’s cultural highlights, landscapes, traditional performing arts, and local cuisine.


▲Taking photos with the public.