I don't have one in front of me, but I was kinda surprised that they weren't vinyl.
Something like plaster or some other material? Just seemed kinda odd.

To give it more weight since it's a tall narrow sculpt versus hollow vinyl?

I thought it was to make them more like a small religious icon than toy.

I believe these are vinyl, but they have resin inside for weight.

Score one for the big G there. They are in fact vinyl and filled with sand inside. This is the exact way that all religious statues are made. From the very same factory that makes them as well.

This is my favorite fortune god release so far. Is it really off-white, or is that just the lighting?

on another note, in all the pics I've seen, the roads in japan always look so new. it looks like they put a lot of money into the roads and infrastructure to keep them up.

It's off-white, and it looks really sharp in person.

Thanks for the insights everyone.

They do put alot of money into infrastructure, and the natives aren't big litter bugs. They appreciate what they have.

They also repair the roads often as it's an easy way to spend budgeted money.

As the others have said, the Japanese take care of their things. The Japanese are really considerate to others, no talking on mobiles on public transport and yeah, they don't litter.