[Sakai City Hall] [Sakai Hoyamaru] First appearance in Yuruverse (formerly Yuruchara Grand Prix), won 3rd place nationwide! No. 1 official municipal character in Japan (Sakai City, Fukui Prefecture)
Sakai City Hall Press release: November 7, 2024 [Hoyamaru Sakai] First appearance in Yuruverse (former Yuruchara Grand Prix) won 3rd place nationwide! Ranked No. 1 in Japan as an official municipal character (Sakai City, Fukui Prefecture)
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/81038/96/81038-96-dae1816aedd2b82ddf19a9ee0545bcb3-1024×768.jpg
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/81038/96/81038-96-658497e0ba1eac265120a004f7c742c9-1034×582.png “Yuruverse” is To support regional recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, we have three themes: “Revitalize the region with Yuru-kyara,” “Revitalize the company with Yuru-kyara,” and “Revitalize Japan with Yuru-kyara.” It started in 2023 as a successor event to the “Yuru Chara Grand Prix” which was held for 10 years until 2020, and this year marks the second time. ・About Sakai Hoyamaru
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/81038/96/81038-96-cb11b30ae21a8341403f2c03988682b7-722×1024.jpg Hoyamaru Sakai asking for your vote
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/81038/96/81038-96-ce6573ff61a2531de2b765fce83cbdd1-1967×2700.png What’s great about “Sakai Hoyamaru” in numbers 11,400 people = Number of X followers of the top city/town in the prefecture The gap between the charming visuals and the Fukui dialect became a hot topic, and as of March 23, 2020, when it was unveiled, the number of followers of X had reached 7,000. At this point, it has the highest number of followers among the official character X accounts of the prefecture’s cities and towns, and currently has over 11,400 followers. 240 people = Number of simultaneous connections for VTuber’s first distribution On his birthday, October 17, 2020, he held his first broadcast as a VTuber on Sakai Hoyamaru’s official YouTube channel. Up to 240 people, including fans, watched at the same time, and 2,200 chats were received during the approximately 77-minute broadcast. 6,386 people = Total number of name applications A call for names was held from January 15th to February 4th, 2020, and 6,386 entries were received from elementary and junior high school students in the city and fans from all over the country. This open call was featured in Chihara Junior’s YouTube project and became a hot topic. The godfather is Mr. Matsun who lives in Kanagawa Prefecture. There were 32 similar proposals, but only one matched the description of “Sakai Hoyamaru”. 100 people = Number of fans who participated in the online meeting On October 17, 2021, we held an “Online Conference to Think About Sakai City’s Official Character” as the first attempt in the country to think about the official character of a local government together with fans, and a total of 100 people, including character fans,
participated. At this meeting, many ideas were born that were representative of Sakai City’s official characters, such as a “detective dog”, “bad at high places”, and “wearing various hats”. October 17th is Hoyamaru Sakai’s birthday. 180 days = Activity period before unveiling We started our activities on SNS (X) in September 2020, when there was no physical form, and we carried out promotions to gain fans by disclosing the process leading up to the birth of the official characters. As a result, as of January 2020, before the illustrations were released, 51 New Year’s cards were received from all over the country, and on the day of the unveiling in March, there were 550 congratulatory comments.
[Reference information] Sakai City has many other sightseeing spots and foods that Fukui Prefecture is proud of. We will introduce some of them below. A rich and beautiful area of “sea, mountains, and rivers,” including beautiful coastlines such as Echizen Matsushima, which is included in Echizen Kaga Kaigan Quasi-National Park, the Kuzuryu River and Takeda River, the forest area in the eastern part of the city, and the vast countryside that supports Fukui Prefecture’s number one rice producer. We are blessed with nature.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/81038/96/81038-96-bbe2ea12e16043a1871f257f3acbe023-308×231.jpg Tojinbo Tojinbo is a national natural monument and scenic spot known for the scenery of the rough waves of the Sea of Japan crashing against the cliffs. The impressive rock wall stretches for about 1 kilometer. It is said to be one of only three places in the world where such columnar joints of pyroxene andesite are found over a wide area, making it a geologically valuable place. The dazzling blue sky and Sea of Japan in early summer, the evening view of the sun setting over the Sea of Japan in autumn, and the rough waves and cold winds when snow falls. All of them are wonderful seasonal scenery that shows Tojinbo and the great nature of the Sea of Japan. Image
URL: https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/81038/96/81038-96-853c3e1eaa9babe54ab030e0c2339626-341×231.jpg Echizen Matsushima The scenery is made up of the same columnar joint rocks as Tojinbo, and there are some unique rocks scattered about, and if you follow the walking path, you can cross over to small islands and look into caves. Echizen Matsushima Aquarium and accommodation facilities are adjacent to it, making it a popular tourist destination for families and excursions. There are historical resources such as Tojinbo, one of Japan’s most scenic spots, the coast centering on Mikuni Sunset Beach, Mikuni Minato, which flourished through the Kitamaebune trade, and Maruoka Castle, which has 12 castle towers.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/81038/96/81038-96-7aa96b9aa48e8d9916be041404b56ac7-354×237.jpg Mikuni Minato Mikuni Minato is located at the mouth of the Kuzuryu River, the largest river in Fukui Prefecture. It is a town that has prospered for a long time and has a long history, so much so that the place name “Mikuni” is mentioned in documents from more than 1,000 years ago. In addition to the history and culture left behind by the Kitamae-bune, the townscape still has an emotional atmosphere, including townhouses with rows of lattice doors and historic buildings that retain the traces of wealthy merchants.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/81038/96/81038-96-125704092f6463ba73083080f91aabc5-354×253.jpg Maruoka Castle Maruoka Castle, also known as Kasumigajo, is a flat mountain castle built using an independent hill in the plain. The sight of it floating among the cherry blossoms in full bloom in spring is fantastic and extremely beautiful. It was built by Katsutoyo, the nephew of Katsuie Shibata, on the orders of Oda Nobunaga in
preparation for the Ikko Ikki in 1576 during the Sengoku period. The castle tower was built on an independent hill at an altitude of 27m, surrounded by the Ninomaru and inner moat, and outside of it was the Sannomaru and outer moat. Maruoka Castle Castle Tower is one of the 12 castle towers that were built before the Edo period and still remain today in their original appearance. The stone walls were completely destroyed by the Fukui Earthquake in 1945, but they were restored in 1955 by reusing many of the main components such as the castle tower and stone walls. Of the 12 existing castle towers, Maruoka Castle is the only one that has been restored from a completely collapsed state. The stately appearance of the ancient style that still stands today is proof that it has stood up and recovered even after going through the difficult path of extinction, and its history has been a uniquely turbulent one.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/81038/96/81038-96-4bbe82a1fdbda66b805edf9f14b0b36c-308×231.jpg Ojima Its nature is an island of the gods that has never been touched by humans. The entire island, which has a legend, is also popular as a walking route rich in nature. Ominato Shrine stands at the back of the island, and the annual Ominato Shrine festival is held by area residents on April 20th every year. Tourism that takes advantage of food is attractive, with marine products such as “Echizen crab”, a typical winter delicacy in Fukui Prefecture, agricultural products such as soba and rakkyo, wild vegetables, fried tofu, and Wakasa beef.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/81038/96/81038-96-112127113f89d84564c1aa1a5a2f1c7d-3000×2000.jpg Echizen crab “Echizen crab” from Mikuni Town, which is famous for being presented to the imperial family every year, is known as the “king of winter tastes” because its flesh is well packed inside the shell, sweet and firm in fiber. .
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/81038/96/81038-96-ced0ba8b5e3597376360fc1fa61985dd-700×466.jpg Sweet shrimp Sweet shrimp is one of the most popular flavors from the Sea of Japan, along with Echizen crab. At Mikuni Fishing Port, there are lots of fresh, clear red sweet shrimp lined up.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/81038/96/81038-96-9ba363b204d7637065d56fb0cb5d5158-308×231.jpg Maruoka grated soba Sakai City is one of the prefecture’s leading producers of soba, and the grated soba made with buckwheat flour from Maruoka is especially fragrant and has a strong flavor that you won’t get tired of. Traditional technology industries such as fashion brand names, woven labels for quality indicators, and Velcro tapes, which have the largest market share in Japan, are thriving.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/81038/96/81038-96-8fed82598269af03f1a405bc6d4c96d4-347×231.jpg Echizen-ori: Name tag Maruoka is a major producer of textiles, and the demand for “Ori labels” used as patches and sports names is increasing, and “Echizen Ori”, which is designed using computers and drawn on textiles, is also becoming popular as tourist souvenirs. I’m making it. Our main product is name tags for clothing, and we boast a 70% share of the domestic market.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/81038/96/81038-96-cbfde4ae652aadd73651561c48f1e1ce-308×231.jpg The shortest letter in Japan Honda Sakuzaemon Shigetsugu, a loyal vassal of Tokugawa Ieyasu who was connected to Maruoka Town, wrote a short letter from his camp to his wife, “Let me tell you a lesson: be careful of fire, don’t cry, let your horses grow fat.” (“Osen” refers to Honda, the future lord of Echizen Maruoka Castle.) There is a monument to Narushige (childhood name Senchiyo) at Maruoka Castle. Using this monument as a hint, we aim to recreate the shortest letter in Japan and restore the letter culture.Since 1993, we have set a theme every year and have been collecting entries for the “Issho Keijo Award.” Applications are being received from all over Japan and overseas for the “Shinichihide Keijo Award.”
