I’ve been a space nerd for even longer than I’ve been a kawaii fan so I LOVE the new space-themed Rilakkuma products! They seem to be a tie in with the Lawson corner shops in Japan, but luckily you can still find a lot of it online. The plushes are all amazing, but there are also some cute figurines, cool backpacks and loads of stationery. eBay is your best bet at the moment, but hopefully some will turn up on San-X partner sites in the US and Europe too. I’ll take one of everything!
Sumikko Gurashi are one of San-X’s newer sets of characters, but it’s taken me a while to warm up to them. Suddenly I’m seeing them everywhere and they’re getting cuter and cuter! Apparently, the name translates as ‘things in the corner‘ so this shy group of friends includes a polar bear from the far corner of the arctic, the last piece of tonkatsu from the corner of your plate, a weed that got tossed in the corner and more! Here’s a few of my favourite Sumikko Gurashi things.
This is what pushed me over the edge into Sumikko Gurashi love. This is a dust character drawstring bag and I love its little arms and legs. It’s only available from the San-X shop just now, but hopefully will turn up elsewhere soon, because I want one!
Modes4U have lots of Sumikko Gurashi plush, stationery and more. This phone stand featuring penguin and weed is really cute and the weed is even on elastic as a screen cleaner.
ShopKawaii have pages and pages of everything Sumikko Gurashi. I love these stackable plush trays – cute and useful!
Artbox have some plush, stickers and cool stationery, like these colourful letter sets.
And finally, a big huggable cat, from OtakuMode.
Do you like Sumikko Gurashi?
A new feature! Our submissions form has been getting a workout lately, with loads of you writing in to tell us about your cute shops. With a huge list of my own cute finds to work through too, it can be difficult to get around to the submissions, so I’m going to feature a few at a time when they’ve piled up. Here’s some of my favourite plush from over the holidays.
There aren’t nearly enough kawaii robots out there, but luckily Robots and Monkeys have arrived with a new range of plush. Each one is different and sewn up by a qualified plush robot scientist! SCK readers can get 3€ off any order with the code THANKYOUROBOTS.
Smiling Bear have a new range of cute koala products, available in Australian airports and online. As well as being adorable, the toys have secret smile pockets and a portion of the profits goes towards helping real koalas.
We’ve featured My Dear Darling‘s cute penguins before and quite a few things been added since then. I especially love these mini tweedy plush.
And finally, Noodle doll Nelly is a new shop selling cute clouds and brooches. The mobiles and hanging ornaments are especially sweet.
Want to tell us about your cute shop? Head over to the Submissions page.
Food with faces has always been the ultimate form of kawaii for me and what better than Tokidoki food with faces? Their new Buffet design has all the usual characters, plus cute cake, noodles, burgers, popcorn and more. It looks great on their range of bags and t-shirts, and I love the keychains too which, at $6, are an affordable way to add a bit of Tokidoki kawaii to your day.
I’ve always connected Funko Pop vinyl toys with sci-fi and fantasy shows, but there are some super cute ones available now too featuring characters from Bambi, Alice in Wonderland, Sesame Street, Hello Kitty and more. You can pick these up in person at stores like Forbidden Planet or shop online at Amazon.
Have you seen Sanrio’s newest character? It’s a cute deer called Hummingmint! She’s been available in Japan for a few months now, but it’s taking a while for products to show up on this side of the world. Luckily, eBay sellers are filling the gap if you can’t wait any longer for one of those adorable plushies. There’s also bags and bento sets and hopefully much more to come soon. Check out the cute little web game while you wait (it’s in Japanese, but super simple)
It’s that time of year again. Sanrio want to know which character is your favourite so get on over and vote for your favourite. The site’s in Japanese, but just click the button under your favourite character and then fill in the form. While I’m writing this, the top 3 are My Melody, Hello Kitty and Little Twin Stars with my favourite Pom Pom Purin in fourth.
Voting closes in a couple of weeks and then we’ll find out the new rankings at the end of June.
Okay, this might be the best subscription box yet – a whole box full of Pusheen! There are four boxes a year and each will come packed with rare and exclusive items including clothing, accessories, electronics, toys, stationery and more. At $43.95 per box + shipping, it’s not cheap, but you get over $100 worth of stuff and it’s Pusheen so how can you resist? You can sign up for the first box now, which includes a vinyl toy and will ship in December, so start pestering Santa.
I’m obsessed with the Neko Atsume kitty collecting game (iPhone | Android), and judging by the SCK Awards nominations, so are you! I’ve been looking at all the merchandise and dying from how cute it all is.
Rakuten can be tricky to navigate but it’s full of all the latest Japanese releases – including limited editions! – and most sellers will ship internationally. These amazing washi tapes are only £2 each and top of my wishlist.
There are also some Japan-based sellers on eBay who have everything from plushies and keyrings to cups and art books. There’s a plush of pretty much every character so you should be able to find your favourite.
Hamee Strapya World have a big selection of Neko Atsume plush, stationery, charms, bags and more, plus there’s 15% off everything today!
A few handmade products are popping up on Etsy including these adorable pillows by Clarus Crafts.
You can also try making your own with the latest video by Maqaroon where she shows you how to needle felt Tubbs and Peaches!
Happy kitty collecting!
There was a surprise in the latest Rilakkuma theme as they have a new friend! Korilakkuma met Kogumachan in the honey forest and he’s brown and round and smells of honey. He also has a furry chest and bear shaped pawprints. Here’s a super cute video introducing him.
I’m sure there will lots of kawaii products available soon, but you can already pre-order plush from Mira Plush including everyone dressing up as their new pal.
What do you think of Kogumachan?
The newest San-X character is Jinbe San, an adorably happy whale shark with a gang of underwater friends. He was voted the winner of San-X’s character election and everyone here at SCK has gone crazy for him too.
The first range of products has just launched in Japan and they’re all amazing.
Look at this plush with a little pocket for a smaller plush!
You can watch this video to see Jinbe San and friends in action and find out more on the character page, along with free wallpapers. You’ll need to use a shopping service to order from the San-X shop in Japan, or else try to be patient until they’re available at some of the San-X stockists in our shopping guide.
It’s been overshadowed a bit by the arrival of Jinbe San, but San-X also just released an adorable new Rilakkuma series with a sea otter theme. How cute do they look in their costumes?
There’s some super cute plushies and keyrings, plus stationery, stickers and more.
Everything’s available now from the San-X store if you use a shopping service, otherwise you can pre-order the plush from Mira Plush with shipping worldwide. There are also some cute free wallpapers for your computer and phone – get them via I Heart Rilakkuma.
Noodoll have some new friends for you to meet!
Riceouch is an adorable cactus who likes hugs! He’s soft and cuddly not prickly so that shouldn’t be a problem.
Ricecoco is a cheerful cheeky monkey who wants to go on adventures with you.
Ricepapa is very dapper with his gold moustache and Riceberry has a cute embroidered gold nose. These black and gold luxe versions have extra soft fluffy fur.
My fave Riceananas now comes in a big snuggable cushion, perfect for brightening up your home.
Find them all at www.noodoll.com along with stationery, tape, gadget cases and more Noodoll friends.
I spotted the new Nintendo x Vans collaboration when I was shopping in Glasgow recently and had to share. I’m a huge Nintendo fan so it’s pretty amazing to be able to wear all the characters on shoes.
The range includes lots of popular character including Mario, Princess Peach, Yoshi, Zelda and Donkey Kong. My personal favourite is this black and white Nintendo Villains design – I love Boo! These are exclusive to Schuh in the UK and I’m severely tempted.
There also backpacks, t-shirts and socks available so check it all out at Vans or on Amazon.
One of my favourite shops to visit in Japan is Passport, which sells lots of super kawaii homewares. Over the years I’ve bought an onigiri rice ball pillow, an adorable bunny bowl and lots of little plushies. This time they had a big display of cute cats called Fuku Fuku Nyanko. Fuku fuku means good luck or happiness and that’s definitely how I was feeling about discovering them!
I spent so long trying to decide which pillow to get and eventually chose the white version of these. It’s made of memory foam so nice and squishy and great for the flight home. I especially love his floppy paws and tail.
I also picked up a colourful hand towel for my bathroom featuring all three kitties – Hacchi, Chachamaru and Michelangelo.
There are loads more Fuku Fuku Nyanko products on the Passport web shop including plushies, pouches, rugs and stools! How amazing would one of these clocks look in the kitchen?
Passport only ship within Japan and Fuku Fuku Nyanko don’t seem to be turning up on eBay or other sites yet. They do also have a Rakuten store so you could use a shopping service to order and ship to you. Otherwise, if you’re visiting Japan, there’s a store in Ikebukuro’s Sunshine City mall and more across Japan.
We featured some Bananya plush earlier this year and now you can watch the anime at Crunchyroll. It’s a series of 3 minute episodes all about a group of cat/banana hybrids and is totally adorable and hilarious. If you’ve ever wanted to see a cat banana bouncing around, shouting NYA, making friends with a mouse and watching TV then your dream has come true.
There’s a new episode every Monday and you can watch some episodes for free or check out the free trial to watch everything. I’ve been subscribed for a while and there’s tons of great anime to watch. Next in my queue is Polar Bear’s Cafe, which is exactly what it sounds like.
Tokyo Otaku Mode have been adding more Bananya plush recently too and I think I really need to add one (or two) of these coin purses to my plush collection.
Are you watching Bananya?
We don’t usually feature Kickstarters but two of SCK’s favourite kawaii artists are currently running projects that are well worth checking out.
Ghost, donuts and enamel pins are three of my favourite things. If you feel the same, you’ll want to back this new set of pins by Kumapop. Pledge $15 to get a pin of your choice, plus a sticker and wallpapers or pick up a few if you can’t choose.
If plushies, crabs and fruit are more your thing, look at these Crabapple Cousins from Inki-Drop! Shelly has designed three new fruity varieties of her Crabapple character in lemon, lime and orange. A $20 pledge gets you the plush of your choice, postcard and phone wallpaper and if they break the you could also get an enamel pin, sticker sheet and lanyard.
Don’t forget that Kickstarter products only get made if they meet the funding goal so be sure to pledge if you don’t want to miss out.
Barnes and Noble teamed up with tokidoki to make back to school fun with exclusive items you will want to snatch up. Even if you are not headed back to school some of these items can work for everyday actives like work or running errands.
If you are in a creative rut try this writing prompt journal. Use the prompts and images to spark creativity.
Stay rich with this Diamante coin purse that is perfectly suited for a backpack, purse or pocket.
Push it real good with these pushpins featuring classic tokidoki images.
Take a break and relax with some fun images to color. This coloring book is full of tokidoki characters and styles that you have come to know from the designer.
Think beyond pencil case with this multi-use pouch. You can stash makeup in this cute case or brushes if you are an art student!
Available online (US shipping only)and in stores these items are going fast. The display I saw in one store over the weekend was already being picked clean. Get what you want now before these items vanish.
Num Noms are a new-ish collectible toy line to hit the market. As soon as I saw them on shelves I had to grab a few mystery packs and a set to add to my ever growing toy collection.
Each character in super sweet – from the cute design to the scent these lil characters will make you hungry! You can mix and match characters to create your own menu and they stack upon each other. You can display them individually as well.
I bought the pizza pack – because hello – pizza!
The ice cream pack looks too sweet to pass up.
And if you like surprises like me go ahead and grab a few mystery packs. Each character slips over a lip gloss or stamp and comes with a collectable character chart.
No matter what your flavor is Num Noms have you covered. From sweet to salty you are bound to find your favorite treat in a collectable form. You can also pick them up at Amazon and Toys R Us.
Us poor Pusheen fans in the UK have had a hard time getting our hands on plushies and merch without paying huge shipping fees and crazy customs duties. Thankfully, there are more UK stores stocking Pusheen now, plus we get some exclusive products too.
Claire’s is on every High Street and now has a small range of Pusheen items including stationery, phone cases, a mug and this cool backpack.
Marks & Spencer is not a place I expect to find kawaii, but they have some super cute Pusheen stationery and a few sets of pyjamas that would fit smaller adults too. My mum spotted Pusheen socks too but they don’t seem to be online.
ASOS have some exclusive Pusheen stationery available if you want to be the coolest at school (or at home).
TruffleShuffle have tons of stuff I haven’t seen anywhere else including t-shirts, bags, stationery, egg cups, chopping boards and hot water bottles!
And you can always rely on Artbox to stock all the kawaii Pusheen plush including coin purses and pencil cases, plus tons of cards for every occasion.
Some of these stores ship internationally too so Pusheen fans worldwide can add to their collections.