TOKYO • Maybe a man walking around in a panda outfit does not arouse much attention in Japan where folk dressed up as manga and video-game characters are a common cosplaying sight.

That perhaps explained the fashion choice of British folk-pop singer Ed Sheeran as he walked around Osaka without the stress of being mobbed by fans.

He was in the city to perform last Tuesday in an Asian swing of his Divide Tour that also saw him making a Singapore stopover last Friday.

But the game was up when Sheeran, 28, stepped into a convenience store.

"People were baffled when they saw a giant panda walk into a shop, but were even more stunned when the head came off and Ed's ginger mop came out," The Sun newspaper quoted a source as saying.

Sheeran has said one of the biggest factors behind his start in show business is the colour of his hair.

"When I started playing music, every time I would do a gig, everyone was like 'oh it's the ginger guy with the small guitar' and you get remembered for that," he told an interviewer.

"The thing I always say to kids now is, it's great to be weird."

Japan's cosplayers might just heed his advice and dress as a panda to stand out in the crowd.