All over Fukushima but especially in Aizu, you can see countless variations of the red cow "akabeko"(赤べこ), a bobble-head toy. The region's legends sometimes connect it to a real cow that was used in the building of the Enzoji (円蔵寺) Temple in the city of Yanaizu (柳津), sometimes to the feudal lord and general Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豊臣秀吉, 1537–1598) and sometimes with the superstition that it can protect children from smallpox; the latter persists and that's why akabeko is the first thing you see when you exit the Aizu-Wakamatsu station.
The sign invites visitors to push the button so akabeko will shake its head and welcome them to the city.
(For a bigger version of these pictures both in color and black and white, check my "Japan Arekore" set on Flickr)
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