The The Quintessential Quintuplets ∬ anime series teamed up with THE CHARA SHOP for a special event inside Ikebukuro Marui in Tokyo which is set to run until June 17.

Merch Line-Up

Pins | 6 Designs (Chosen Randomly) | ¥440 Each (Tax Included)

Micro Fibre Clothes | 5 Designs | ¥660 Each (Tax Included)

Key Rings | 5 Designs | ¥880 Each (Tax Included)

Mug | ¥1,650 (Tax Included)

Large Acrylic Stand | 5 Designs | ¥1,980 Each (Tax Included)

Mini Acrylic Art | 5 Designs | ¥2,200 Each (Tax Included)

B2 Tapestry | 5 Designs | ¥3,300 (Tax Included)

Fans of the anime series can get their hands on presales of a collection of ‘school rock’ themed merchandise. And for every ¥3,000 spent on items, you can enter for the chance to win extra free he Quintessential Quintuplets ∬  goodies too.

Marc Jacobs’ iconic The Snapshot Bag has released in two exclusive colours at Shibuya PARCO in Tokyo as well as their Japanese online store, serving early summertime vibes.

The Snapshot | Shibuya PARCO & Marc Jacobs Japan Online Exclusive

Left Photo: Exclusive Models – Both ¥47,300 | Right Photo: 3D Painted Flowers – ¥71,500, Crystals – ¥62,700 (Tax Included)

Arriving first on the 2016 Spring/Summer runway, the Marc Jacobs Snapshot is a collection of cute and compact bag purses made to wear across the body. Each model is kitted out with audacious colours with oversized double-J hardware. All come with a detachable strap.

The new and exclusive duo of blue coloured bags come with webbed straps showcasing the detail that goes into the brand’s craftsmanship. Both models add a sense of freshness to a look. Additionally, the Marc Jacobs Shibuya PARCO store branch also offering their Customization Capsule collection, allowing customers to freely customise their bags.

Ueno Information Center is celebrating the 4th birthday of Xiang Xiang, the giant panda who was born at Ueno Zoo back in 2017, with the release of a merchandise collection. The line-up arrived on Wednesday and is available both at the information center and via their online store.

Although strict measures are in place at the center to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spreading, celebrations for Xiang Xiang aren’t completely cancelled, as fans of the adorable panda, who has become something of an idol in Ueno, can get their hands on some fun goodies.

Ueno Panda Family Memorial Pins 2021 | ¥2,530 (Tax Included)

Ueno Panda Family Clear Pouch YE | ¥2,200 (Tax Included)

Ueno Panda Family Cooling Lunch Tote Bag | ¥1,650 (Tax Included)

The collection features motifs of Xiang Xiang, her mother Shin Shin, and her father Ri Ri. The pin collection, which comes in a gold leaf-laced box, includes Shin Shin in a tree peony, Xiang Xiang amongst the cherry blossoms, and Ri Ri with lotus flowers.

The pouch sees Xiang Xiang happy and energetic with her parents. It comes in a summery yellow and is made from semi-transparent matted vinyl. Perfect for storing away makeup, stationery, and any other bits and bobs.

The cooling bag is made from aluminium on the inside for keeping your food fresh. It’s big enough for fitting a bento and 500ml bottle, making it handy for taking your lunch out with you.

Happy 4th Birthday, Xiang Xiang!

Narita Anime Deck opened its Gintama pop-up event last Tuesday which is set to run until July 15.

The Narita Anime Deck opened inside Narita International Airport Terminal 2 in November 2019. It’s an entertainment facility where travellers from around the world can experience and enjoy Japanese anime culture in various forms such as with character merchandise, food, events, and a variety of photo spots.

The event sees anime series characters Gintoki Sakata, Toshiro Hijikata, and Okita Sougo dressed as pilots and Shinsuke Takasugi as a traveller. These designs are featured on a range of merchandise, decorations, and the food menu.

One must-grab item is the face mask case which arrives in four designs – one for each character.

The food line-up includes the Uji Gintoki Don & Katsudon Hijikata Special Set. This meal and dessert comes with an Uji matcha syrup-covered anko bowl which is based off the food that Gintoki gives to a cat. You can also order a latte featuring latte art of your favourite character. For every item ordered on the menu, you get a free coaster. These come in two design collections: one is available now and will be replaced by the other on June 19.

And if you spend over ¥3,000 on Gintama merchandise at the event, you’ll receive a free card. Fans can also get a free lunch mat if they spend over ¥4,000 and the shop or eat-in restaurant and show their receipts.

nel craft chocolate tokyo, a craft chocolate shop located in Nihonbashihamacho, Tokyo, released two chocolate shaved ice desserts last Wednesday for the hot summer season. The desserts are also being sold at Saryo Tsukikage, a restaurant inside the hot spring ryokan Yuen Bettei Daita in Setagaya.

Left: Cacao Kintoki | Right: White Cacao Kintoki

Cacao kintoki is a type of shaved ice made with specially-selected cacao beans from Vietnam. It uses a ‘bean to bar’ method where the shaved ice is made from scratch, roasting the beans fresh to create the dessert.

The two new treats at nel use a chocolate base and add cacao pulp to the mix, adding a natural fruity flavour derived from the bean. Each is also served with a special cacao sauce for extra flavour. The white cacao version is made by combining with in-house white chocolate. It also comes with an Okinawan passion fruit and cacao pulp sauce, resulting in a sour kick and refreshing taste.

Saryo Tsukikage

The open-air baths at Yuen Bettei Daita

A special matcha version of this shaved ice can also be enjoyed while bathing in the open-air baths at Yuen Bettei Daita. It’s made with nel’s homemade white chocolate as well as dark chocolate, cacao pulp, and specially-selected yame matcha from Shimokita Chaen Ōyama, a cafe in Setagaya.

June 21 will mark three years since MORI Building DIGITAL ART MUSEUM: EPSON teamLab Borderless first opened. Located in Odaiba, Tokyo, the digital art museum is commemorating its anniversary with two new installations: Sketch Aquarium: Connected World and Sharing Rock Mass, Transcending Space. Experience digital art, which blurs the lines between reality and fantasy, change in real time as people come into contact with it.

MORI Building DIGITAL ART MUSEUM: EPSON teamLab

Sketch Aquarium: Connected World

teamLab describes this exhibit:

The fish drawn by everyone swim around in this aquarium.

Color in a fish on the paper provided. See the picture you have drawn come to life in the massive aquarium in front of you, swimming together with the fish drawn by other people. If you touch the swimming fish, they will swim away. If you touch the food bags, you can also feed the fish.

The tuna you draw will transcend the boundaries of the artwork and swim out into the Sketch Aquariums and Sketch Oceans of exhibitions around the world. And the tuna drawn in other parts of the world may appear and swim in the Sketch Aquarium right in front of you.

Sharing Rock Mass, Transcending Space

teamLab describes this exhibit:

A rock mass floats in the world of the teamLab Borderless museum in Shanghai. The rock mass floats through the hallway of teamLab Borderless Shanghai and sinks into the wall. The rock mass transcends the physical space of the museum itself, the part that sinks into the wall appears in the world of the teamLab Borderless museum in Tokyo.

When people touch the part of the rock mass emerging in Tokyo, it shines with blue light. This light flows to the rock mass sunken into the wall in Shanghai. When people touch the part of the rock mass sunken into the wall in Shanghai, it shines with a red light which flows to the rock mass here in Tokyo. When red light flows into the rock mass, it indicates that someone in Shanghai is touching the rock mass.

teamLab is represented by Pace Gallery, Martin Browne Contemporary and Ikkan Art International.

ICHIBIKO is a new strawberry dessert-themed cafe that opened at Tokyu Food Show in Shibuya, Tokyo, on June 1. The shop’s concept is centred on letting people enjoy strawberries all year round served in a variety of sweet and succulent ways.

Migaki-Ichigo Pudding | 3 Flavours

The Migaki-Ichigo Pudding is a Japanese-style custard pudding made with a layer of custard and strawberry jam. The jam, which contains fresh juicy pieces of strawberry left over, is made from a type of high quality strawberry called Migaki-Ichigo. These puddings are available in three flavours.

Migaki-Ichigo Pudding – Strawberry Custard | ¥432 (Tax Included)

Made with fresh cream and vanilla custard and combined with strawberry jam. Rich and full of fruity flavour.

Migaki-Ichigo Pudding – Condensed Strawberry Milk | ¥486 (Tax Included)

Layered with condensed milk instead of custard, lending a refreshing milky flavour to the sweet strawberry and giving a velvety texture.

Migaki-Ichigo Pudding – Strawberry Milk Yogurt | ¥432 (Tax Included)

Made with strawberry sauce-infused yogurt and Migaki-Ichigo jam giving a cool, refreshing flavour.

The new ICHIBIKO store also sells the brand’s most popular beverage, ICHIBIKO Milk, as well as baked confections, and fresh Migaki-Ichigo strawberries sourced directly from farmers.

Disney SWEETS COLLECTION by Tokyo Banana, a joint confectionery shop between GRAPESTONE and Tokyo Banana, released its new Mickey & Friends collection on Thursday.

Tokyo Banana Mickey & Friends Collection | ¥1,300 (Tax Included)

Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, and Pluto join hands in a heart-warming new collection of Tokyo Banana, a cream-filled sponge cake and the official souvenir sweet of Tokyo’s official souvenir sweet: Tokyo Banana.

Mickey & Friends arrive in all the colours of the rainbow

The colourful packaging features the Disney group of best friends including Mickey, who loves his friends, his girlfriend Minnie, the anger-prone Donald, stylish Daisy, silly Goofy, and trusty Pluto.

Six cute patterns decorate the sponge cakes

There are six super cute Mickey & Friends designs you could get in your Tokyo Banana, and each one is random. They are filled with chocolate banana-flavoured custard cream.

Collect all the postcards

All boxes of these treats come with two of eight possible postcard designs which you can use for sending to someone or even as room decoration.

 © Disney

Hotel Keihan launched a new guest room plan in collaboration with the anime series The Promised Neverland at its Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Nagoya, Sendai, and Sapporo branches on Tuesday. It also released a collection of exclusive merchandise which can be bought at each hotel’s front desk.

Guest Rooms

Exclusive Merch Line-Up

Pins | ¥550 Each (Tax Included)

Key Rings | ¥550 Each (Tax Included)

Lobby display

The hotel plan was originally scheduled to take place for three months but has been extended by a further month to accommodate for travel restrictions as well as guest demand. New prices have also been introduced to make it more accessible to people. Fans of the anime series can get their hands on a range of items not available anywhere else too including pins, key rings, folders, and more.

The hotel room designs are inspired by both seasons of The Promised Neverland and come with life-size panels, wall decorations, and more, so fans can look forward to getting sucked into the world of the anime series.

(C)白井カイウ・出水ぽすか／集英社・約束のネバーランド製作委員会

Tower Records has announced a collaboration with the Hetalia World★Stars anime series which will take place at three TOWER RECORDS CAFÉ branches: in Shibuya and Umeda NU Chayamamachi from June 9 and Nagoya Sakae SKYLE from June 22.

The cafe collaboration will see two different menus served across two periods. See the Information section at the bottom for more details.

The cafe collaboration’s main visual

Menu ① Line-Up

Gutentag! Assorted Germany Plate / Dobrý den! Czech Style Goulash / Ahoj! Slovakian Kapustnica Set – ¥1,500 Each (Tax Included)

Buono! Panna Cotta & Tiramisu Set / Anmitsu Parfait – ¥1,300 Each (Tax Included)

Italy’s Bicerin / Germany’s Spezi / Japan’s Matcha Milk / Czech’s Berry Lemonade / Slovakia’s Honey Wine-Style Apple Juice – ¥800 Each (Tax Included)

Menu ② Line-Up

C’est bow! Big Brother’s Special Pot-au-feu / Hello! England’s Meat Pie / Здравствуйте! Our Beef Stroganoff – ¥1,500 Each (Tax Included)

Hi! Hero’s Special Muffins / Hào chī! Sesame Seed Dango & Annin Tofu – ¥1,300 (Tax Included)

America’s Cherry Cola Float / England’s Biscuit Tea / France’s Rose Ginger Ale / Russia’s Varenye Tea / China’s Floral Jasmine Tea – ¥800 Each (Tax Included)

Available in Menus ① and ②

Pochi-kun’s Latte | ¥800 (Tax Included)

Takeout Bottle Drink | ¥972 (Tax Included)

Menu Order Bonus Items

Menu ① Postcard

Menu ② Postcard

Menu ① Business Card Set (3 Included)

Menu ② Business Card Set (3 Included)

Menu ① Sticker (You must book a table in advance to receive)

Menu ② Sticker (You must book a table in advance to receive)

Exclusive Merchandise

Pins | ¥440 Each or Full Set ¥4,400 (Tax Included)

Key Rings | ¥880 Each (Tax Included)

Mini Character Acrylic Stands | ¥990 Each (Tax Included)

Folder Set (2 Included) | ¥990 (Tax Included)

Acrylic Diorama | ¥3,850 (Tax Included)

Hetalia World★Stars is a manga series by Hidekaz Himaruya that’s serialised in Jump Comics+. In promotion of the new original net anime series which began airing on April 1, Tower Records has teamed up with the popular franchise to create a themed cafe experience with food, drinks, and desserts.

Fans can also get their hands on a selection of cafe-exclusive merchandise featuring their favourite characters including Italy, Germany, America, England, France, Russia, China, Czech, and Slovakia. These items are also available at Tower Records’ online shop in Japan.

Since you have a time limit of 80 minutes to dine at the cafe, you can book a table in advance, which also earns you some freebie merch. Tickets are now available. Additionally, if there is a free table on the day, you can also go straight in. Same-day tickets are available in limited quantities.

©日丸屋秀和／集英社・ヘタリアW★S製作委員会

TOKYO SENTO Festival 2020 is taking place as part of Tokyo Tokyo FESTIVAL, an initiative that’s hosting a diverse selection of of cultural programs in the run up to the Tokyo Olympics, promoting its appeal as a city of arts and culture.

The project launched on May 26 at 500 sento in Tokyo. It covers many forms of Japanese art from manga, to Art Brut (outsider art), contemporary art, popular characters,
and more, all of which are serving to create artistic bathhouses. Two artists to look out for are their Art Brut to Haginoyu in Tokyo.

Art Brut is an art based on original methods and ideas that are not confined to existing expression methods. “Abundance comes from human connections” will be performed by Takeru Aoki and Kiyomi Hoshi.

If you’re in Tokyo this spring and summer, don’t miss out on the Tokyo Sento Festival.

Six branches of PEANUTS Cafe in Japan, including PEANUTS Cafe Nakameguro, released a new collection of products and pouches on May 26.

The colourful line-up is made from TPU, a material that’s lightweight, waterproof, and has high wear resistance, making it a convenient pick when a sudden downpour of rain erupts when you’re out.

The collection features a kissing-Snoopy design along with the line “WE’D VOTE SWEETIE!”

The Line-Up

TPU Daily Shopper Bags | ¥3,740 Each (Tax Included)

These shopping bags are handy to take out when popping to the shop. They are durable, can fit inside a handbag or other bag, and can carry 5kg of items.

TPU Daily Pouches | ¥1,650 Each (Tax Included)

These zipped pouches are perfect for storing little everyday items like lipstick, earphones, and so on. Since they’re see-through, they’re great for putting cosmetics in when you’re out so you can see exactly what you want to take out. You can even use it for coins and money. Perfect for the summer leisure season too as they’re durable against rain and dirty.

Tyvek x PVC

These bags look like paper – the inside is made from Tyvek and the inside from PVC. These too are water and dirt resistant.

Hour Glasses

These hour glasses make as beautiful room decorations whether for yourself or as a gift to someone. Sit back and watch the relaxing sand and feel the tiredness of the day slip away.

Triple Pouch Set | ¥2,970 (Tax Included)

A collection of three pouches featuring Flying Ace Snoopy and the Peanuts Gang. Each one is of a different size which you can use for storing various items, like earphones, cords, and so on. You could even use them for bagging up a gift for someone. The pouches also have the PEANUTS Cafe logo on them.

©2021 Peanuts Worldwide LLC