Tower Records has announced Rilakkuma x Tower Records Campaign 2021, an event set to run from August 4 to August 29. The retail music chain is joining paws with Rilakkuma and company for a campaign with the theme “Wow, what a surprise!” at Tower Records stores, their online shop, and Tower Records Cafe.

Merch collab line-up

Tower Records has collaborated with Rilakkuma every year since 2009. This year sees the arrival of brand new original merchandise, a CD, and themed cafe.

The merchandise will be available at 27 Tower Records stores, Tower Records Cafe Omotesando, and online. Enjoy adorable original artwork of Rilakkuma, Korilakkuma, Chairokoguma, and Kiiroitori. There’s lots of freebies to get your hands on too – check out the line-up below.

Available at 27 Tower Records stores, Tower Records Cafe Omotesando, and the online shop

Available at Tower Records Shibuya, Tower Records Cafe Omotesando, and the online shop

Free character cards with every purchase

Red Rilakkuma zabuton floor cushion

For this year’s campaign, Rilakkuma fans can win themselves a zabuton floor cushion too. For a chance to win, you need to sign up online.

Tower Records x Rilakkuma CD cover

Postcard included with CD

The eighth Tower Records x Rilakkuma CD includes background music for doing yoga. There are 15 popular J-pop tracks in total which can be enjoyed for just chilling out to as w2ell.

Themed cafe menu

The cafe collaboration at Tower Records Cafe Omotesando takes on an American diner theme. Takeout drinks will also be available at the Nagoya Sakae SKYLE and Umeda NU Chayamachi branches too.

At Tower Records Omotesando

Table mats at Tower Records Omotesando

Rilakkuma, Korilakkuma, Chairokoguma, and Kiiroitori themed dishes, drinks, and desserts

Receive a free fan when you book a table in advance

Receive a free postcard when you order from the collab menu

Set of 3 original stickers

Free postcard when ordering from the Special Menu

Free postcard when you order a takeout bottle

Collect all six stamps in the stamp rally to win a poster

During the campaign, for every piece of merchandise ordered, you’ll receive one of four possible character cards. 20 people who also scan the QR codes included on the cards by September 12 will be randomly chosen to win either a white Rilakkuma zabuton cushion or a ¥3,000 Tower Records gift card.

©2021 San-X Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Japanese online supermarket Oisix released its “Donald Duck Summer Nasi Goreng Mountain” meal kit on July 15, and will release the new “Lilo & Stitch Hawaiian Loco Moco” version on July 29. Both are part of the “Kit Oisix” series of recipe kits which lets people cook up a meal inspired by characters.

Kit Oisix Donald Duck Summer Nasi Goreng Mountain

Kit Oisix Lilo & Stitch Hawaiian Loco Moco

Recipe book contents page

Recipe book step example

Summer Challenge from Donald section

Summer Challenge from Donald work sheet

A child taking on Donald’s summer cooking challenge

The ingredients and recipe book delivered with the Donald Duck Kit Oisix

Lunch Mat

The ingredients and recipe book delivered with the Lilo & Stitch Kit Oisix

Lunch Mat

Both meal kits arrive with all the necessary ingredients and condiments needs to make delicious themed meals. They also come with a recipe book which features step-by-step breakdowns of how to prepare the meal as well as other fun bits such as a work sheet. The kits are aimed at parents and children and fostering their relationship, but if you love Disney, anyone can enjoy these cooking experiences.

With just a small bit of ingenuity, turn everyday food into something cute using Kaori’s Easy Recipe! With a few simple ideas, an ordinary recipe magically transforms into a cute dish.

In this recipe, I’ll show you how to make a delicious banana cake that is tasty even if refrigerated!

Ingredients

Makes a 18cm pound cake

2 ripe bananas

100g unsalted butter

50g granulated sugar

2 eggs

100g weak flour

1

Bring the butter to room temperature and mix it with the sugar until it becomes white. I used unsalted margarine for this.

2

Gradually add both the egg whites and yolks and pour slowly into the mixture while mixing. Mash the banana with a fork, add to the bowl, and mix.

3

Sieve in the flour and mix lightly.

4

Bake at 160℃ for 40-45 minutes and it’s ready! I used a 15cm pound cake tin and muffin tin to make mine. If using a muffin tin, bake for 30 minutes.

Leave to cool and use the edge of the pound cake tin to cut ears. Finish by using a chocolate pen to draw on Rilakkuma’s face.

Kaori invites you into her world of character-themed food dishes in her recipe series. Be sure to check out her Instagram where she has uploaded many pictures of her character dishes!

KIDDYLAND has announced that Rilakkuma will take on the role of shop manager at 18 Rilakkuma Stores this summer from July 1.

All the Rilakkuma managers to be appointed

The appointment of these Rilakkuma managers was held out in cooperation with San-X, the creators of the character. Each store will have a completely different Rilakkuma each with its own personality. Some will even have Korilakkuma. If you head on over to the official Rilakkuma Store Instagram and Twitter pages, you can see the Rilakkumas at their stores doing work, prepping for events, and more, so be sure to follow and cheer them on.

©2021 SAN-X CO., LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Japanese organic food delivery service Oisix released a cute new Winnie the Pooh tomato curry meal kit on Thursday.

Kit Oisix “Winnie the Pooh” Tomato Curry

Make Pooh’s face easily with a stencil sheet

Message cards come with the kit

The packaging

Lunch mats and pick

The story of Winnie the Pooh follows the titular character who lives in the Hundred Acre Wood and his adventures to find honey. The meal kit was designed with friendship and bonds in mind: in a time when we can’t travel as often to see the people we love, Pooh is the perfect comrade and the embodiment of friendship perfect .

Pooh’s yellow face is made from rice seasoned simply with saffron-infused sofrito. His face, which would be a lot of effort to try and create from scratch, can be made easily with the stencil sheet and paprika powder provided.

The meal kit is made to capture the feeling that your friends and loved ones are always with you. In the kit, you’ll find a recipe card detailing how to make the food, a lunch mat with an illustration of Pooh and his friends on it, and a message card which you can mail to someone special.

To promote the kit, Oisix is holding a social media campaign. If you tweet a photo of your completed meal on Twitter or Instagram to someone you love with the Japanese hashtag #いつも一緒だよ you’ll receive a free virtual background you can use on Zoom and other services.

Rilakkuma and Sumikko Gurashi are set to collaborate at a special festival centred entirely around the characters which will run at Sapporo Factory from September 17 to November 28.

Rilakkuma, Sumikko Gurashi, and you are invited to the festival which will be split into two areas: the Rilakkuma Pavilion and Sumikko Gurashi Pavilion where the characters will be present to greet guests. The event is taking on a magical theme which imagines the spirits of San-X, the company who created Rilakkuma and Sumikko Gurashi, casting a mysterious magic on the festival to bring happiness to all.

There’s plenty for fans of the characters to enjoy including fun photo spots, exclusive merchandise, and much more.

If you’re in Sapporo this autumn, don’t miss the Rilakkuma & Sumikko Gurashi Festival.

Japanese publisher SHUFUNOTOMO released a new recipe picture book based on the Studio Ghibli’s 3D CG movie Earwig and the Witch on April 28.

Earwig and the Witch Recipe Book | ¥1,540 (Tax Included) 

The book features simple to follow recipes including famous British meals, desserts inspired by the movie, and lots of other mouth-watering delights that look like something straight out of Earwig and the Witch.

St. Morwald’s Home for Children’s Shepherd’s Pie

Shepherd’s pie is a classic British meal and makes an appearance in the movie when Earwig eats it at St. Morwald’s Home for Children. It’s her favourite meal: mash sat on top of a tomato sauce-loaded mince, carrots, green beans, onion, and paprika combo.

Boy Scout Fried Toast

Fried toast is another common food on the British breakfast menu. The recipe takes thickly-sliced bread and fries it in the juices of bacon and sausage. It’s based on the scene where Earwig messes up making her fried toast. The recipe is made Frech-style with egg, milk, sugar, and butter.

Earwig’s Pretzels

Using hot cake mix, learn how to make frosted white chocolate pretzels that look like Bella Yaga’s magical worm minions

Goro Miyazaki | Comment (Taken From Recipe Book)

“Cooking is fun, isn’t it? I myself love cooking: taking various ingredients and peeling them, chopping them, crushing them, and mixing them. You boil, you steam, you simmer, you fry. Using fire makes it all the more fun. What I make doesn’t always turn out perfect, but you can turn off and forget everything while you’re cooking, but it’s an amazing feeling when you sit down to eat the fruits of your labour and people tell you what you made is delicious. It’s even more amazing when you eat something that someone else made for you. Tasty food is like magic. Speaking of which, the magical spells that Earwig learns at Bella Yaga’s house are a lot like cooking. Carving, crushing, mixing. I’m sure that if you’re a skilled witch you’ll be a skilled cook too. I hope the people who read this book and think for the first time that they want to try out cooking will try making all sorts. Getting better at cooking might even lead you on the path to becoming a witch.”

The recipe book’s front cover was designed specially for this book by Goro Miyazaki.

With just a small bit of ingenuity, turn everyday food into something cute using Kaori’s Easy Recipe! With a few simple ideas, an ordinary recipe magically transforms into a cute dish.

Today, I’ll teach you how to make Baymax mushi-pan steamed bread.

Ingredients

This recipe makes 5 portions

140g strong flour

20g granulated sugar

Pinch of salt

3g dry yeast

3g baking powder

5g vegetable oil

85ml-90ml milk (room temperature)

1

Mix everything together in a food processor. If you don’t have a food processor, you can also knead the ingredients well by hand.

2

Ferment at 40℃ for 40 minutes. If you don’t have a fermentation machine, leave in a warm environment.

3

Once the dough has doubled in size, divide into five portions and put into separate cups. If using paper cups, rub a little bit of oil inside.

4

Bake in the oven at 40℃ for 20-25 minutes.

5

After baking, steam in a steamer for 12-13 minutes. If you don’t have a steamer, put into a frying pan or large pot with a little bit of water and cover.

6

Once cooled, use some nori seaweed to make Baymax’s face and you’re done!

San-X is bringing fans of the popular Netflix animated series Rilakkuma and Kaoru with the launching of a community event to get everyone watching the series again together at the same time. Titled “Rilakkuma and Kaoru Watching Party,” the event will take place on March 19. Although it’s taking place in Japan, this is a fun chance for fan around the world to get involved too.

Rilakkuma and Kaoru has been well-received around the world. Netflix announced it as the second-most watched series in Japan in 2019. Now, fans can come together once again as the event, which is taking place in promotion of the opening of the series’ official fan club, has them re-watching the first episode together.

There are two ways to get involved: via the Rilakkuma Community official fan club and on Twitter.

Getting Involved With the Rilakkuma Community Official Fan Club

The room for this event will open on Rilakkuma Community on March 18. There, fans can get ready to tune in to watch the episode together on March 19 at 19:00 (JST). There is a fee to pay if you want to join the fan club, and the website is in Japanese, so you’ll need to be able to read the language if you want to use this method.

Fan club members will also receive an exclusive Rilakkuma and Kaoru wallpaper.

Getting involved on Twitter

You can follow the event with the official Japanese hashtag #リラックマとカオルさんを一緒に見ようの会 where people are encouraged to share their thoughts and support for the setries.

©2021 SAN-X CO., LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Japanese character goods and toy chain KIDDYLAND is collaborating with San-X, the creators of the iconic Rilakkuma and its friends, to open the Chairoikogumarché, a market themed on Chairoikoguma, at KIDDYLAND Osaka Umeda. It will be open for a limited time this spring from March 11 to 25.

Chairoikoguma is a popular honey-loving bear character created by San-X who lives in the Honey Forest. This year marks the 5th anniversary since its debut.

In 2018 and 2019, San-X opened the limited-time Korilakkuma Meets Chairoikoguma Store which was hugely popular amongst Rilakkuma fans, with repeat buyers returning multiple times. Chairoikogumarché was originally scheduled to open at KIDDYLAND Osaka Umeda in April 2020, but it was postponed and will now open next month. Once they book their attendance, fans can look forward to laying their eyes on original Chairoikoguma artwork coupled with phrases spoken in the Kansai dialect. There will be exclusive items to purchase, merch pre-sales, bonus goodies, and more.

Merchandise Line-Up Excerpt

Charm Set | ¥1,320 (Tax Included)

Mask Case | ¥660 (Tax Included)

Pre-Sale Merchandise

Pre-Sale Release: March 11, 2021

*This product will be released for general sale at Rilakkuma Stores in Japan, excluding the Osaka Umeda branch, on March 13.

Chairoikogumarché & Nakayoshi Plush Toy (Sakuranokorisu) | ¥3,080 (Tax Included)

*Not available at Rilakkuma Store Umeda Osaka. Pre-sale exclusive to Chairoikogumarché.

*Will also be released on San-X’s online shop.

Pre-Sale Release: March 11, 2021

*This product will be released for general sale at all Rilakkuma Stores in Japan on April 3, 2021.

Long Plush Pillow | ¥6,600 (Tax Included)

Mini Shoulder Bag | ¥5,500 (Tax Included)

*Will also be released on San-X’s online shop.

Bonus Items

1. Customers who spend over ¥3,000 (tax included) at Chairoikogumarché will receive a random free zipper case from a possible two designs. First-come, first-served.

*One per person, per transaction. Design chosen randomly.

*Available while supplies last.

*Will be released at all Rilakkuma Stores except the Osaka Umeda branch on March 13.

2. Customers who spend over ¥5,000 (tax included) at Chairoikogumarché will receive a free tote bag. First-come, first-served.

*One per person, per transaction. Design chosen randomly.

*Available while supplies last.

©2021 SAN-X CO., LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Fans of Rilakumma are in for a real treat as San-X, the company behind the internationally-beloved bear, opened the “Rilakkuma Tomonokai Official Fan Club” on Wednesday (February 10).

Plush Toy Set

Folder

Acryluc Key Ring

Signing up to the fan club means getting your hands on a range of merchandise from exclusive goods to new member items, a new wallpaper every month, access to the Rilakkuma Community, birthday mail, and more. Those who do sign up will receive a Rilakkuma plush toy and folder for free as thanks.

*Images are for illustrative purposes only. Size, colour, and design may vary from actual products.

©2021 SAN-X CO., LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

With just a small bit of ingenuity, turn everyday food into something cute using Kaori’s Easy Recipe! With a few simple ideas, an ordinary recipe magically transforms into a cute dish.

Today, I’ll be showing you how to make Strawberry Milk Chocolate Pudding, a delicious recipe whipped up with love for Valentine’s Day.

Ingredients

✩Ingredients For Chocolate Pudding
35g chocolate
300ml milk
30g-35g granulated salt
5g gelatine (dissolved in 1 tbsp water)

✩Ingredients For Strawberry Pudding
100g strawberries (fresh or frozen)
350ml milk
30g-35g granulated salt
5g gelatine (dissolved in 1 tbsp water)

Weck jars for the dessert.

1

First, we’ll make the chocolate pudding.

Put the milk and granulated sugar into a pot and heat on the hob until the sugar melts. Turn the heat off, throw in the chocolate, and allow to fully melt. Once melted and the mixture is cooled, add the gelatine to dissolve.

2

Now, we’ll make the strawberry pudding.

Put the milk and granulated sugar into a pot and heat on the hob until the sugar melts.

Add the mix to a blender with the strawberries and blitz. Add back onto the hob and heat through slightly. Allow the mixture to cool then add the gelatine to dissolve.

3

Once both mixtures are completely cooled, add them to the jars in an alternating pattern and chill until set.

⚠️Make sure the dessert is completely set and not runny before serving. About an hour each in the refrigerator should be sufficient.

Top with cream and strawberries and enjoy!