Japan is home to all things kawaii and you can find adorable cartoon characters and mascots everywhere. There are the usual merch shops, cafes and theme parks, of course, but Japan might be the only place in the world where you can see characters from your childhood transformed into fancy manhole covers like these colourful Pokémon ones, or climb aboard a fully functioning Thomas the Tank Engine train.
We have to admit: we’re slightly jealous of the local kindergarten kids in Japan, who get to ride to school on fun buses decked out to look like Hello Kitty and Snoopy, or even disguised as a panda, complete with ears. Here are some of our favourite cute-as-a-button buses. Ah, the joys of being a kid again!
Pikachu (Yokohama)
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Doraemon (Chiba)
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Thomas the Tank Engine (Tokyo)
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Cat (Okinawa)
猫バスでググっていたら全国色々な幼稚園にあるのね(´・ω・`) pic.twitter.com/ZiibzwvVF9
— シークレット™ (@secret_222) August 16, 2016
Snoopy (Fukuoka)
本当に日本だよな、シャレオツてきな、幼稚園のバス、機関車、犬バスにネコバスて、トトロか！、新幹線も観たような、自分の子供の頃、普通のマイクロバスだったよ、ベージュと赤、とベージュと青の2台だったような、本当におしゃれなバスなんだね。 pic.twitter.com/x1KGuyf1Tb
— 中牟田 大成 (@Taise5300) September 20, 2016
Hello Kitty (Hyogo)
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Yellow dog (Osaka)
Panda (Ehime)
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Dalmatian (Kobe)
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