I wanted to share a series of pics from Japan that showcase the cute, the wonderful, the weird and the WTF that embodies Japan with an eye mostly toward things of a furry nature. This is one of many such photos submitted to that end. Please enjoy this little window Shōji into a very intriguing country. =3

Eleven years ago, I saw this cute horsie named Turfy on a giant sign on a building in Akihabara's busy shopping district. I'd never seen him before but I immediately wanted something-- anything merchandise-wise of him. A sticker, a plushie, a figurine. I was ecstatic that a horsie character existed and happily set out to find him, confident he would soon be mine. I mean shit, he's a Sanrio character, the same company that has been covering the earth with Hello Kitty merchandise for decades so I guessed he was probably easy to find in Japan. Wrong.

I would spend the rest of my 2006 visit to Japan searching unsuccessfully for Turfy in *ANY* form.

Fast forward 11 years and I was back in Japan and the hunt was on once again. If you don't live in Japan, I'm going to bet you've never heard of Turfy. I guarantee you won't find him here or at a Sanrio store. Try looking on ebay or the internet. There's nothing there. Turfy is a fucking ghost.

You can see him here, the horse with the cute star on his head. This photo-op was stationed outside the local racing association in Ōsaka.

Despite being owned by the biggest merchandise-whore in Japan, Sanrio has done fuck-all to market Turfy as a cute design. Once again, I found nothing, and believe me, I searched!

You see, Turfy has been adopted by the JRA, which is the Japan Racing Association. He's become its mascot and anywhere the JRA can be found, his image is posted on the building and on banners and in the windows.

You can go to the JRA but don't bother looking for merchandise. It's not there. I looked at JRA in Ōsaka and found jack. I asked if they had anything for sale and they did not. I did walk away with a flyer with his image on it but that's all.

In the Gion district of Kyōto, we spotted several plush Turfys in a window. I was sooo tempted to smash that window and trot off with them all, but contained myself-- something I now regret.

The only thing I saw for Turfy merchandise was a pen owned by a woman working in a gift shop that had a small Turfy dangle on the end. That was it...

It seems that it may be that Turfy is only gotten through association with the JRA. You can find pictures of him being held by winning jockeys and being worn as a suit but you can't find him for sale anywhere. I suspect that the JRA just don't care to sell him as merchandise, or he can only be gotten by betting on races or being a JRA member or something like that.

So if you see any Turfy merchandise, or know of any, please let this pony know! Thanks! I hope one days he'll turn up.