With the announcement of Mt. Fuji joining the ranks of UNESCO’s World Heritage, there has been a sudden swell of attention paid to the iconic mountain. Merchandise has been coming out fast and furious, but the popularity explosion has unexpectedly struck the cute anthropomorphic Mt. Fuji moe character Saori with some of its shrapnel. However, while people were coming for the name association, a steady fan-base is building as we learn a little more about Saori’s personality.

Saori is the central character to Fujiyoshida City’s “Project Saori” tourism campaign. Seeing as the city rests at the foot of Mt. Fuji, a moe mascot fitting the image of the mountain seemed like a no-brainer.

However, the creators of Saori were thinking a little outside of the box when coming up with her personal details. For starters her age (23) is rather high for moe, and she might be described as a “problem drinker” by some. Here are her stats in full.

Name: Saori
Age: 23
Blood Type: B
Birthday: 23 February
Family: Two parents and a twin sister
Job: Works at the Fujiyoshida Roadside Station Shop
Hobbies: drinking (getting a little buzzed), taking tours of shrines and temples, birding watching, and travelling with her sister
School Club: tea ceremony
Favorite Food: noodles (especially udon), any kind of sashimi
Least Favorite Food: green peas, sweet potatoes
Favorite Product: Mt. Fuji style umbrellas
Weakness: Always mistaken for a minor

The reason for Saori’s maturity is probably due to a pun on fu-ji-san meaning “twenty-three” in different readings of the kanji characters. We can learn more about her through a series of comic strips such as this one showing her drinking alone on her birthday.

However, you’ll get better action on her frequently updated Twitter account which has been seeing a steady rise in followers in the past few weeks. She has also been appearing regularly on Japanese message board site 2-channel.

Since being developed just over a year ago it looks like the future is bright for this moe mascot, which is fitting for someone resembling Japan’s most famous symbol.

Source: Twitter – @Saorichan223, Fujiyoda City Saori Project via Internet Watch (Japanese)

▼ The roadside station where Saori works, meaning you can probably get all of her merchandise there

▼ Hopefully some owners of these sold-out limited-edition Saori bottles of sake hung on to them. They could make a killing at an online auction.