Japan’s Aso Kumamoto Airport has begun a five-month campaign to attract tourists to the southwestern prefecture by rebranding itself on Wednesday as Aso Kumamon Airport named after the popular black bear character and mascot.
Images of the character will be painted on the floor of the entrances and stairs among other locations in the airport until March 15 next year, the airport said.
The project, launched with the Kumamoto prefectural government and other partners, also provides an area for visitors to take photographs alongside an image of the bear donning a pilot’s uniform.
The popular Kumamon was created in 2010 to promote Kumamoto ahead of the launch of the Kyushu shinkansen bullet train service the following year.