Gao Tongtong Goes Abroad: Japanese Couple Invites It to Miyazaki Prefecture’s Taiwan Cultural Festival

Kaohsiung’s “agricultural spirit” Gao Tongtong is also a hit overseas. It once won acclaim in Japan’s Mascot Grand Prix. This weekend, a Japanese couple who have lived in Taiwan for two years are hosting a “Taiwan Cultural Festival” in Miyazaki, and they specially invited Gao Tongtong to be a guest, crossing the sea to participate in the festival and dance interactively with Miyazaki Prefecture’s mascot, the “Miyazaki Dog Brothers,” promoting rural culture in Kaohsiung.

The Far East couple organizing the cultural festival have lived in Taiwan for two years and are very fond of Taiwanese culture. Therefore, they hope to introduce the Taiwan they know to their fellow Japanese through the cultural festival event. Since Gao Tongtong is their favorite Taiwanese mascot, they specifically invited the Kaohsiung Agriculture Bureau, asking Gao Tongtong to go to Miyazaki, Japan to attend this “Taiwan Cultural Festival.”

On the 6th, Gao Tongtong attended the cultural festival event. Its lively performance caught the attention of visitors and interacted in a lively dance with the local mascot, the “Miyazaki Dog Brothers,” holding its own impressively. Gao Tongtong also took the opportunity to introduce Kaohsiung’s agricultural specialties and various unique features, using the exchange event to let more Japanese people appreciate the beauty of Kaohsiung’s city and countryside.

Ye Kunsong, head of the Kaohsiung Agriculture Bureau, stated that in addition to being the only Taiwanese mascot to make the top 100 in the overseas mascot category at the 2014 Japan Mascot Grand Prix, Gao Tongtong has also traveled to countries such as the United States and Canada for promotional tours of Kaohsiung agriculture, achieving quite a remarkable “track record.”

He said that the Japanese company KIGURUMI.BIZ, which produces the Gao Tongtong puppet, is located in Miyazaki Prefecture and is the same company that makes Kumamon. The company’s director and factory manager, Hiromi Kano, known as the “Mother of Mascots,” once visited Taiwan and was proud to see Gao Tongtong’s high popularity.