Are You Cool?

 

People have been asking us lately what that cute monster in our poster is all about. First of all, it's a squid and our Cool Japan festival mascot. It doesn't have a name, though, but we can call it Squid for now. Squid's job is to ask people イカしてる? (ikashiteru?), which is Japanese slang for "are you cool?" or just "cool?" The first two characters, イカ (ika), happen to be the word for squid. Therefore, Squid is a pun on the phrase ikashiteru.

Hope this enlightens things. You'll see a lot more of Squid at the Cool Japan festival, coming up in two weeks!