Japanese Humor?

Japanese society appears to be rigidly formal. They have three or four degrees of formality for every basic phrase, which makes learning the language hard. They are polite and hardworking, and for the most part their public image comes across as stern. I find it intimidating. Then I came home and find this parked in front of my apartment:

That's right. It's a Pokemon car. Complete with ears:


And a tail:
It also has a speaker on the front that speaks in a Pokemon voice when a button is pushed. It speaks Japanese, so I have no idea what it says, but my neighbors thought it was awesome. They were really excited when I brought my camera down, and walked around pointing out all the features (especially the mouth, nose, and speaker). They even brought out camera phones which made me feel less like a tourist.

I'm glad the Japanese have a sense of fun too.