Today I caught a rare appearance by Adachin, a blue and white Japanese Chin dog and the unofficial mascot of Tokyo’s Adachi Ward.

Adachin has an interesting backstory. He was originally conceived of in 2007 as a character for promoting arts and culture in Adachi, and was designed by Jun Aoki, an animator on the cult anime, Pop Team Epic. However, a newly elected mayor cancelled the plan, so Adachin was left a masterless mascot and now identifies as a stray dog. These days, Adachin sells T-shirts and other merchandise online with slogans like, “The mayor hated me,” and, “I got fired.”



Today, Adachin was in his hometown of Adachi Ward, attending a craft market held in the P-kun Cafe, an establishment themed around another character, P-kun, who is the yellow mascot of the P Ark chain of pachinko parlours and looks like Pac-Man with a nose and body.

It was great to finally see Adachin in the flesh. He was quite a striking sight, with his vivid colours and long fur, and he was happy to pose for plenty of pictures. It was a rare treat, since Adachin only surfaces a couple of times a year to support local events such as this small market. I hope Adachin’s fortunes change and we see more of him in the future.