Taipei International Travel Fair / Most Astonishing Mascot: A Live Squid Roams the Venue

▲ The most astonishing mascot at the travel fair.

Reported and photographed by You T-Ru / Taipei

The ITF Taipei International Travel Fair took place on the 1st and 2nd floors of Taipei World Trade Center Hall 1 and in Hall 3. To draw crowds, each hall used mascots as a major attraction to boost ticket sales. But amid the many “adorable” mascots, the Japan Hokkaido booth surprisingly featured a live squid moving through the venue—a life-sized squid walking along the main aisle of the travel fair, leaving many attendees astonished and commenting, “This kind of mascot design is really very rare.”


                         ▲ A live squid unexpectedly made an appearance at the Japan Hokkaido booth.

Unlike the cute-themed mascots at other booths, the Hokkaido stand specially airlifted the famous Hakodate mascot “Squid” to Taiwan. Staff members donned a costume closely resembling a “real squid” and paraded around, drawing considerable attention. However, fewer people were keen to take photos with the “squid,” and some even remarked on-site, “This is the most unbelievable mascot design at the travel fair.” Nevertheless, despite its lack of a cute appearance, this giant squid still managed to leave a deep impression on fairgoers.


▲ The mascot “SenSen” from Eastar Resort Hotel.


▲ Mascots from Japan’s Tohoku region also interacted with the public on stage.


▲ The Mt. Fuji mascot was the most popular mascot at the travel fair.