Interest

Ghost-Like Veggie Mascot Udolla Represents Tachikawa

This veggie-like mascot may look a little ghastly, but he just wants to learn about his home town.

Udolla—a relatively new Japanese mascot character for Tachikawa, Japan—is a monster that mutated from "udo", a subterranean vegetable that is grown in a farm in Tachikawa. While his face isn't one you'd want to run into in an alleyway, Udolla is a friendly character that only wants to learn more about the city in which he was born.

The vegetable is also known as Japanese spikenard, "nanpaku udo" is the soft and white version that Udolla most resembles. The plant grows very quickly with no sunlight, reaching 31 inches high in just a month. Udo is usually eaten in a salad.

An udo farmer checks on his underground crop by candlelight

Udolla was recently introduced on the Kotobukiya Twitter. The tweet states: "The day of the vegetables is upon us. Introducing Udolla, born and raised in Tachikawa. Modeled after Tachikawa udo, this monster is full of love for his city."

As a mascot, Udolla tours around the city of Tachikawa to visit many of its tourist attractions and interact with its citizens. His ultimate goal is to spread his love for Tachikawa throughout the whole country.

Udolla was chosen as a mascot back in 2012, winning the Selection Committee Special Award despite losing out in second place during the mascot elections earlier that year.

[Image via The Asahi Shimbun]