Last year, Hikone Castle in Shiga Prefecture drew more than 849,000 visitors, a 61 percent jump from 2006 and the largest number of tourists to visit the castle in a decade.

The increase was partly attributed to the castle's mascot, a big, chubby white cat named Hikonyan.

Hikonyan, wearing a red warrior's helmet and a green scarf with a big yellow bell around its neck, was originally created to mark the castle's 400th anniversary last year.