Non-chan (Noda Village)

Noda Village mascot character Non-chan. Noda Village apparently has one of Japan's leading salmon and trout hatcheries. Non-chan was born in Heisei 6 (1994) when the soul of a salmon fry born in the Aniakawa River, a clear stream famous for mountain-stream fishing, was breathed into it. The bulge of Non-chan's belly is “the barometer of everyone's happiness in the community.” Since abundant catches, plentiful harvests, and the community's circle of interaction are its sources of nourishment, the belly apparently shrinks when nourishment is lacking. Non-chan is active as an eternally zero-year-old mascot character loved by everyone in the town.