Chofu City; Dec. 4, 2010

The most popular (recognized) phrase of the year is a common topic at year end among Japanese people.

A publisher Jiyu-kokuminsha announced the popular phrase of 2010 in late November. It was “Gegege”, a phrase taken from an essay’s title “the Wife of Gegege”. The essay focuses on the life of a famous comic writer Shigeru Mizuki and his wife.

Chofu Cit, western suburb of Tokyo, is where Mizuki and his family live.

We found his comic characters in the town. They include Kitaro,

Negzumi Otoko and Neko Musume – all are lovely monsters with miracle powers.

They sell Kitaro related goods at the city’s tourist center.