There is at least one thing that the COVID-19 pandemic has made us look at in a different way and that is toilet paper.
Even in usually cool-headed and not-prone-to-hysteria Japan, as soon as the ...
Hiroshima's Miyajima island is already one of the most picturesque and popular sightseeing destinations in the whole country. And it now just got even better -- and cuter.
The small island just ...
If you loved the Hello Kitty Shinkansen bullet train, then you will adore the new Toei Shinjuku Line trains. Operator Keio will deck out certain Shinjuku Line trains in a Hello Kitty theme, starting ...
Visitors to Sanrio Puroland, the theme park with attractions based on Sanrio characters, can enjoy a whole new kind of entertainment from March with a kabuki-inspired Hello Kitty ...
Great Wave off Kanagawa Cat Scratching Post
Hokusai ukiyoe-themed pet furniture
This April, fashion brand Pac-Store is teaming up with Harajuku's Kawaii Monster Cafe for a special collaboration event featuring Pac-Man in all his yellow-headed glory.
The Pac-Man x Kawaii ...
We've seen our fair share of character- and franchise-themed cafes over recent years, especially in Tokyo but also in other cities around Japan. Past examples include cafes for Miffy, Sailor Moon, ...
Sanrio's Pompompurin character may not be as famous and popular as Hello Kitty but the loveable yellow pooch continues his attempts to conquer Japan.
After tempting commuters to hug columns in ...
After taking over an underground concourse in Shinjuku Station to great success in March, Sanrio's Pompompurin character is back with another "huggable" advertising campaign to celebrate his 20th ...
Animal Cooling-Heating Mat Stand
Warming and cooling platform for pets
Last year we reported on Gudetama, the peculiar "lazy egg" character by Sanrio that has become a range of hit products.
In a perfect synergy of trends, the curiously loveable character has joined ...
We've seen some great "physical ads" in Tokyo recently, from a removable block mural to an interactive sound billboard and a scratchable poster.
How about a "huggable" ad?
From March 7th to ...
In the first such event space of its kind, the Miffy Cafe opens at Shibuya Parco's The Guest Cafe & Diner from March 18th to May 8th.
Not surprisingly, the Miffy Cafe will serve up a host of ...
Rilakkuma Cafe opens in Harajuku as a temporary pop-up space from March 4th to April 10th.
Needless to say, the venue itself (located at 4-28-28 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku) is fitted out in a Rilakkuma ...
Omoshiroi Block Nishikigoi Koi Carp Memo Pad
Japanese-themed paper-craft desktop decoration
In Japan, even the police have their own moe cute mascot characters.
The Japanese metropolitan police has a "crime deterrence measures" department. While that sounds very serious, in Japan that ...
The popular Q-pot Cafe is celebrating the start of 2016 -- the year of the monkey in Japan -- with some themed special items on their menu.
Available only from January 3rd to January 11th, the New ...
Sanrio are the most successful participant in Japan's enormous character industry, not least since they gave the world Hello Kitty.
But they aren't happy to rest on the laurels of profits pouring ...