Sawar Machiko

Sawar Machiko, Hannan City’s sawara PR ambassador, was created to widely share the appeal of sawara, one of Hannan City’s regional resources. Sawara is known as “the fish that announces spring” and is landed in large quantities at fishing ports in Hannan City. Its flesh is soft and rich in fat; besides being enjoyed grilled with salt or Saikyō-yaki, fresh sawara can also be enjoyed as sashimi or tataki. To promote sawara as a resource Hannan City can take pride in, Hannan City has pursued various initiatives, including establishing “Senshū Hannan Sawara Day” in 2024, holding a sawara filleting show at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, and holding the first Hannan Sawara Festival in 2026. Sawar Machiko was created to further enliven these activities and help people in and outside the city become familiar with sawara. She is a cat character wearing a sawara-machiko巻き head wrap, and will share the appeal of Hannan City through PR goods and other means in the future.