Day 46: Tottori Part III

Within the Tottori prefecture is the city of Sakaiminato, which is the hometown of a famous Japanese manga author, Shigeru Mizuki, his most known work being GeGeGe Kitaro. In Sakaiminato is Mizuki Road, which is a long street filled with shops and restaurants mostly devoted to this manga. Littered throughout the street are statues of each of Mizuki's characters. You can also get a guidebook where you look for stamp stations and collect stamps up and down the streets. If you collect them all, you get a prize.

Anyways, there were a LOT of statues, so I'm just going to post my favorite ones.

  

Nuri Kabe - It's literally a wall. And quickly became my favorite character of the bunch. :)

 

Main character Kitaro

  

 

He wants a kiss. Pucker up.

  

Nezumi-Otoko - literally translates to "Mouse Man"

 

Doesn't he remind you of that monster in Pan's Labyrinth?

 

This is what I look like during finals week.

  

It's a mailbox. Cute, huh? :)

Even their taxis are Kitaro-themed. 

There was also a Shigeru Mizuki Museum that we went into. My host  mom got me an English audio guide so I wasn't just mindlessly wandering around not understanding anything. 

 

Inside, they had a youkai (demon/monster/ghost) garden. The audio guide told me that if I could find all ten youkai lanterns, that something very good will happen to me in the near future. I found them all. I'm waiting, Audio Guide, and will hold you accountable.

They also had costumed GeGeGe characters walking about. 

 

Saw this dude three times.

This post is brought to you by:

 

  

Cute themed toilet signs and Naga-chan who rested in my lap while I typed up this blog post. :)