'Peas in a pod' Austria and Lake Biwa tweet leads to friendly ties

A ceramic tanuki raccoon dog riding a bicycle that was presented to the Austrian National Tourist Office in Tokyo on Friday. (Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

A geographical quirk and an amusing tweet have blossomed into a friendly exchange between the Shiga prefectural government and the Tokyo branch of the Austrian National Tourist Office (ANTO).

The friendly ties opened a new chapter Friday when the Shiga government gifted the office with a piece of locally produced ceramic ware to celebrate the gold medal an Austrian cyclist won during the Tokyo Olympics.

"It's wonderful how these ties have developed," a prefectural government official said. "We hope to strengthen them even further."

This tweet, which sparked the friendly exchange between ANTO's Tokyo branch and the Shiga prefectural government, received over 20 times more "likes" than other tweets posted by the Austrian organization. (Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

Five ANTO staffers, including three Japanese, promote Austria through various activities. On July 1, which the Shiga government has designated as "Lake Biwa Day," the ANTO office posted on its official account a tweet containing images showing the lake next to a map of Austria and commented that their shapes were similar. The message said Japan's largest lake and Austria were "like two peas in a pod."

The tweet went viral, so in early July the Shiga government sent the Austrian office a 20-centimeter-tall ceramic figure of a standing tanuki raccoon dog as a token of thanks for mentioning Lake Biwa. The office named the tanuki "Gustav" after the famous Austrian artist Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) and used it as a mascot to promote that country on Twitter.

In a show of impeccable timing, Austrian cyclist Anna Kiesenhofer won the women's individual road race event at the Tokyo Olympics on July 25. To commemorate her victory, the Shiga government decided to send the Austrian office a 20-centimeter-tall ceramic figure of a tanuki riding a bicycle produced by a pottery company in Koka, a city in the prefecture famed for its shigaraki ceramics.

Cycling around the perimeter of Lake Biwa is a popular attraction in Shiga Prefecture. An ANTO official said cycling is also popular in Austria and bike paths extend all over the nation. "We'd like to deepen our exchanges with Shiga Prefecture, which has a wealth of routes cyclists can enjoy," the Austrian official said.

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