Many regional characters exists in Japan.
official site:
http://hikone-hikonyan.jp/
images:
http://www.google.co.jp/images?hl=ja&rlz=1G1GGLQ_JAJP328&q=%E3%81%B2%E3%81%93%E3%81%AB%E3%82%83%E3%82%93&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=pu8ETfjyH4_RrQfv1YGRDw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CDUQsAQwAA&biw=1006&bih=677