It’s Nara Prefecture’s mascot character, Sento-kun. To me, he’s more like something out of a horror movie.
Several years ago in Japan, local governments all over the country were scrambling to create their own mascots, known as yuru-chara. “Yuru” has this kind of laid-back, cute, heartwarming feel to it. But I think Sento-kun went in a slightly different direction.
The ones in the photo are some of the most famous and popular yuru-chara in Japan.