But even if yuru-kyara is a very popular phenomenon in Japan, it is still not all mascots who achieve glory. The latest example of this is Ishikawa-ken's new mascot with the appealing (?) name Hyakuman-san (百万さん, Mr. One Million). The Japanese morning show みのもんたの朝ズバッ! ( Mino Monta no Asa Zuba ! on TBS ) introduced the new mascot on their show last week , and announced that the mascot had created a fuzz in Ishikawa because a large number of citizens thought it looked ugly. Hyakuman-san looks like some kind of fancy gold colored daruma doll, decorated with flowers and with a large mustache. But it seems like a flowery and goldish mustache man does not quite do the trick in a country where everything is supposed to be sweet (“kawaii”) and innocent. Nevertheless, there have been examples before where unpopular yuru-kyara eventually has gained acceptance by the people. A good example is Nara's mascot, the controversial Buddha-deer Sento-kun. Sento-kun was also the center of ridicule for a long time, but despite criticism from various groups it seems like he is here to stay. Although Hyakuman-san seems to be rather a failure so far, perhaps also this yuru-kyara can manage to capture the hearts of the Japanese people eventually..

Yesterday we arranged a welcome concert at the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Tokyo for seven mayors from Hardanger in Norway who are visiting Japan on a short business/promotion trip, and on that occasion members of the Japan Hardanger Club held a great Hardanger fiddle performance in the Arctic Hall. I’ve uploaded a short video of one of their songs for those who might be interested.

Hiroshi Mikitani from Rakuten at a luncheon at FCCJ

Yohei Sasakawa, chairman of the Sasakawa Foundation, holding a speech at a seminar about the Northern Sea Route

There are also some daily tasks we are in charge of, such as sending out newsletters or updating the embassy’s homepage. In addition we help out for instance when there are special events at the embassy, and get to participate in quite a few of them ourselves. With regular newsletters and rapports coming to my inbox every single day from other embassies all over the world I can easily stay up-to-date about recent events, something I surely will miss when the term is over.

Holding events at the embassy

I also want to mention that with my 2-year experience of living in Kyoto I find it particularly delightful to be a part of the Norwegian environment here in Tokyo. We were not that many Norwegians at my university in Kyoto, and we did not really have a “Norwegian community” there either. Now that I work at the embassy I get to meet a lot of interesting people coming all the way from Norway for various reasons, and it is nice to have the chance to share experiences and knowledge about our country of common interest; Japan. Going to karaoke with Norwegians who love to sing traditional Japanese enka in perfect Japanese is for instance not something you get to experience every day.

I look forward to the coming months and challenges, and I’ll try to keep the blog updated with my leisure activities here in Tokyo as well. Thanks again to all readers for taking the time to read my blog^^

Bergen has a long history as the former capital of Norway, and currently as the second largest city in Norway. The city was founded in 1070, and back then it was known under the name Bjørgvin. It was also a central city in the old Hanseatic League, and the Hanseatic heritage still remains strong, for instance through the old Hanseatic Warf “Bryggen” (“the Harbor”), and the local Hansa Brewery. Citizens of Bergen are very proud and found of their city, which can be reflected in their patriotism towards the local soccer team Brann and the general statement that “Eg e'kje fra Norge, eg é fra Bergen” (“I’m not from Norway, I’m from Bergen”; of course exclaimed in the local Bergen dialect).

Students enjoying their introduction week in Bergen

Bergen is actually known for its good student environment, as the city is home to both the University of Bergen (UiB), the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH) and the Bergen University College (HiB). Despite being a small city (after 3 years in Asia felt like visiting a small village) the city has a young population and exchange students visiting from all over the world. This summer when I visited Bergen a lot of the students were enjoying their introduction week at school and many students spend this week participating in a wide variety of activities. Recent years it has become a popular group activity to decide on a costume theme, and typically all student in one area of study then dress up in the same type of costumes.

Bergen is also famous among tourists as the gateway to the fjords, and both the Sandefjord, Hardangerfjord and Geirangerfjord are places within reach from the former capital. But Bergen is also a great tourist destination in itself. Norwegians often refer to Bergen as “the city between the seven mountains”, and the mountainous terrain surrounding the city makes it an ideal destination for tourists looking for short or long hiking adventures. 
For those who don’t like to do the exercise, Mt. Fløyen or Ulriken are good options to see the spectacular view of Bergen as they are accessible by respectively funicular and cable car. However, while the mountains surrounding Bergen make it look like an idyllic place to live they certainly also help making it one of Norway’s wettest cities, especially during the autumn.

There is a lot I can write about Bergen, as it is the city I was born in and where most of my relatives live. I have decided to write a couple of more blog posts about Bergen so that it will be easier for my readers to find information about possible topics of interest. Hope some of these also can be of help to anybody thinking about visiting Bergen in the future. And as always, I'm always very happy when I receive questions and/or comments, so please don't hesitate if you have something on your mind!