McDonald’s Japan locations with McCafe by Barista installations will begin selling the Cookies & Cream Frappe for a limited time starting December 8, 2021. The McCafe by Barista corner employs full-time baristas serving ‘authentic cafe coffee.’ 

McCafe by Barista invites guests to enjoy high-quality frappuccinos and smoothies and these locations are offering three unique Frappes this winter. Following the Strawberry Creme Brulee Frappe and normal Creme Brulee Frappe released in late November, the Cookies & Cream Frappe will release soon, filled with rich vanilla sweetness!

Cookies & Cream Frappe Medium: ¥470 / Large: ¥540 (Tax Included) 

The drink is a rich blend of creamy vanilla made from Madagascar Bourbon vanilla beans, blended with crunchy Oreo cookie bits and topped with whipped cream and chocolate sauce. What’s not to love?

Orders are now open for a Godiva Christmas Cake featuring the adorable hamster/car hybrid characters from Pui Pui Molcar! Godiva stores nationwide will accept orders until December 5, and those wanting to snag one can also put in an order at the Godiva online store. ZOZOTOWN is also selling collaborative goods based on this unlikely team. 

Pui Pui Molcar is the first animated television series directed by Asaki Misato and it instantly captured the hearts of children and adults alike with its short episodes and fluffy characters. The series began broadcasting in January 2021, and is only the first week, the official Molcar Twitter page exceeded 100,000 followers. Following a cast of tiny guinea pigs turned into cars, it’s a fun watch for the entire family.

Pui Pui Molcar x Godiva Christmas Cake: ¥6,480 (Tax and Shipping Included) 

The collaborative cake features a chocolate plate with popular Molcar characters and is topped with kiwi, grapefruit, peaches, and other fruits. The chocolate cream is made with fresh Hokkaido cream with a hint of cocoa from Central and South America. Sweets and sour strawberries give the pastry a kick, and the sponge within is incredibly fluffy. The cake also comes with a limited-edition Pui Pui Molcar keychain!

Some collaboration merchandise such as bags, plushies, and apparel, are on sale at ZOZOTOWN. Check the site for more details!

Ginza Cozy Corner, a popular cake store in Tokyo, has started accepting preorders for its beautiful selection of New Years’ mini-cake sets, called Sweets Osechi. In Japan, osechi refers to traditional foods eaten on New Years Day, which come in a special box, not unlike a bento box. Of course, they aren’t usually packed with sweets, but these look absolutely scrumptious. 

In 2011, Ginza Cozy Corner started the ‘First Sweets’ tradition to invite people to welcome the new year by enjoying some sweets after finishing the traditional osechi dishes. This is when the idea of Sweets Osechi was born, sure to put a smile on your face going into 2022!

9-piece Sweets Osechi: ¥2,400 (Tax Included) 

12-piece Sweets Osechi: ¥3,000 (Tax Included) 

This year’s selection includes tarts featuring the Chinese zodiac sign of the Tiger and the first sunrise of 2022. Each set will come in a special box in a bright red design perfectly exemplifying the holiday spirit!

MAISONdes, the creator of the ‘most-used song on social media’ in 2021, has released a new collaborative track. The music video for Rally Rally is also available to watch on YouTube!

The new track has become a smash-hit in Japan, with the project’s popularity across social media continuing to grow. MAISONdes is a unique music project. Extremely popular on TikTok, it’s described only as ‘a fictional apartment building somewhere,’ where a different singer and creator features on each and every track. Each song is even labeled with a room number. This allows up-and-coming artists to collaborate in ways they never anticipated. Artist meiyo features on the new track, a creator who just recently made his major debut. The artist Pii remains a curious addition to the recent Japanese music scene, having never revealed her face and communicating her music through a self-animated character.

This new track will be used as the ending theme for the November edition of the morning show ‘Mezamashi 8.’ 

Popular artists like yama, Nakimushi, Kujira, Moka Sato, Riu Domura, Wanuka, and haruno have participated in the project.  Released in May, ‘Yowanehaki feet. Wanuka, asmi’ won the TikTok Song Ranking four times in a row and has over 100 million views on the app. In August, vocalist asmi appeared on THE FIRST TAKE. The song also attracted a great deal of attention on Line Music, Spotify, and Apple Music.

Social Live Streaming App HAKUNA Live released the music video teaser for the project ‘Today, I’ll be where you belong’ in collaboration with popular voice actors Ayana Taketatsu and Yusuke Kobayashi.

‘Today, I’ll be where you belong’ Project MV  Teaser (30 seconds ver.) 

Ayana Taketatsu

Yusuke Kobayashi

Mikito P

The MV teaser is a compilation of parts featuring both Ayana Taketatsu and Yusuke Kobayashi. The full version of the MV will be available soon, so stay tuned!

MV Story

A girl from the countryside lives alone in the city as she enters college, and a boy looks forward to wearing a suit to work as a new member of society.

As they embarked on a new life, they lost their normal routine of life due to Covid-19.

They are taking online classes and working remotely from home, which makes their days blur.

Then they came across HAKUNA Live and found a new “place” after spending their time alone in their room for a long time.

©MOVEFAST Company. All rights reserved. 

Japanese socks specialist Tabio has launched its second collection in collaboration with Toga, a Japanese fashion brand created by fashion designer Yasuko Furuta.

The Line-up

The collection consists of four different types of socks that combine Tabio’s technology with TOGA’s elements, including socks with the same patterns as TOGA’s garments and sheer socks that sold out immediately last time. The socks are presented in a special package that makes them the perfect winter gift. You can purchase them at the official online store and other limited edition Tabio stores.

A new collection of goods featuring Sakura Kinomoto and popular Sanrio characters is here! The collection features everyone’s favorite magical girl combined with beloved characters such as Hello Kitty, My Melody Pompompurin, Cinnamoroll, and Kuromi. 

The Cardcaptor Sakura manga series was serialized from 1996 until 2000 in the monthly girls’ manga magazine Nakayoshi. In 2016, a new version of the series was released titled Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card and the magical girl series is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2021. An anime series aired from 1998 to 2000, with a Clear Card adaptation airing in 2018. 

Costume Design

This is the second collaboration between Sanrio and Cardcaptor Sakura, with the first coming in 2018 with Little Twin Stars. In these collaboration designs, each Sanrio character wears costumes made by Sakura’s best friend Tomoyo, and Sakura wears a special costume with Hello Kitty and My Melody ears. One of these designs is only available at official Sanrio stores. 

Sanrio Store Designs

The Sanrio Characters x Cardcaptor Sakura series will be available starting November 26 at Sanrio stores and November 25 at the Sanrio online shop. 

Drawstring Bag Set: ¥1,980

Secret Acrylic Keychains (6 varieties): ¥715 each

Acrylic keychains and charms will come in blind packaging. Five of the designs have been revealed, but there is a sixth secret one to find!

Fluffy Designs

Square Tags (5 varieties): ¥660 each / A5 Clear Folder (6 varieties): ¥385 each

Special Rubber Mascot Keychains

These keychains will be available in capsule machines nationwide, and in March 2022, Cardcaptor Sakura x Sanrio plushies will also be available!

©️C,ST/K,EP,N ©️’21 SANRIO 著作(株)サンリオ

As a part of the brand’s 9BOX series, New Balance has released a new graphic T-shirt collection in collaboration with Ghost in the Shell SAC_2045. The items went on sale November 12, and to commemorate the release, a Tachikoma from the series has arrived at New Balance Harajuku! For those who may not have seen the series, a Tachikoma is an AI tank prominently featured in the Ghost in the Shell universe.

T-Shirt

Long Sleeve T-Shirt

Collaboration Sticker

Picture Frame

Motoko Kusanagi, the main character of the series, perfectly exemplifies the New Balance brand, which promotes ‘fearless independence.’ Five new t-shirt designs are now available, all drawn by Ilya Kuvshinov, the character designer for Ghost in the Shell SAC-2045. The collection is available at official New Balance stores nationwide, as well as the online store and participating ABC Marts. Those who purchase items from the collection will receive a collaboration sticker, and a special picture frame will be available on the New Balance official store app NB Shop. 

New Balance’s flagship store in Harajuku is celebrating its fifth anniversary this year and was the backdrop for the cover of Rolling Stone Japan to promote the collaboration. Fans of the anime series shouldn’t miss out on these stylish threads!

Blue Bottle Coffee Japan is collaborating with furniture maker Karimoku for a new collection scheduled for release on December 1, 2021. The items will be available at select Blue Bottle Coffee Cafes, at the Blue Bottle Coffee online store, and at pop-up store locations.

Karimoku is one of Japan’s leading wooden furniture manufacturers. Each of the three items in the collection was not only designed to be easy to use but to be pieces of interior decoration. Karimoku has also produced furniture for some of Blue Bottle Coffee’s cafes in the past, with their pieces being well-received for their design and comfort. 

Karimoku x Blue Bottle Coffee Morning Collection

Dripper Stand

Filter Case

Cutting Board

Blue Bottle cafes are known for their simple designs, and these items exemplify that, using soft curves perfect for adding warmth to any room. These items are completely sustainable and long-lasting, so why not snag one as a holiday gift?

Demon Slayer continues to be massively popular, and kids will be happy to know that a new collection featuring their favorite characters is coming! UNIQLO locations across Japan will release the Kids’ Holiday Loungewear Collection on November 26, 2021. 

The new season of Demon Slayer is coming soon, and this new collection features many popular patterns worn by the series’ characters. A special tote bag also features an illustration drawn by ufotable exclusively for this new collection. 

A limited-edition UNIQLO gift card design will also be available during the holiday season. Don’t miss out on this collection that kids will love!

©吾峠呼世晴／集英社・アニプレックス・ufotable

KANGOL has officially opened preorders for its new Tokyo Revengers collaboration collection on its online store. 

Lineup

The KANGOL brand originated in England in 1938 and is popular among street fashion-lovers around the world. Recognizable by its signature kangaroo mark, this new Tokyo Revengers collection combines the series’ street sense with the high-quality KANGOL brand, popular among artists in the music scene. 

Tokyo Revengers has proven to be a driving force in bringing Japanese anime culture to people around the world, blending science fiction, action, suspense, and classic gangster swag. The recent feature film, in particular, shows a fast-paced representation of Japanese street culture from the past to the present, with each character having their own individual style and principles. Now, using this lineup from KANGOL, fans can show off their own style. Which piece are you after?

BLUE HAMHAM, the adorable character designed by animator Arimura Taishi, is teaming up with popular sneaker shop atmos for the two brand’s first-ever collaboration collection! Merchandise will include a T-shirt and hoodie, both unisex, and both available in three sizes. These will be on sale from November 19 until November 28 at the atmos online store and the atmos x BLUE HAMHAM Pop-Up Store being held at the atmos pink flagship store in Harajuku.

Lineup

atmos x BLUE HAMHAM Long Sleeved T-Shirt

atmos x BLUE HAMHAM Hoodie

AR Filter

BLUE HAMHAM are four music-eating space hamster brothers from a planet called ‘Proxima b.’ Their animations on Twitter, TikTok, and other social media platforms have garnered over 300 million views worldwide. Bringing Tokyo sneaker culture to the world, atmos derived its name from the word ‘atmosphere,’ and aims to be a shop as natural as the air around you. This is sure to be a collab unlike any other!

Guests to the pop-up store can enjoy a photo booth, allowing visitors to take photos with BLUE HAMHAM. A special AR filter on Instagram will also let guests transform into one of these space hamsters!