First up is an adorable mini playing card set that came free with a Japanese monthly manga magazine aimed at young girls called Ciao. As you can see, it’s actually for a series called Pi Pi Pi Adventure, better known as Magical Pokémon Journey in the west. I know next to nothing about the series, but I was lucky enough to receive these cards from a friend of my host mom who knew I liked Pokémon. Even though the stamps on the box “ruin” it from a collector’s point of view, I love the fact that it was an unwanted item that found a new home with me.

The box is very cute, but the images on the cards themselves just might be cuter:

backs of the cards

I think all of the characters shown on the cards are not random, but actual characters from the manga… Too bad I don’t know more about it!

Next up is perhaps one of the coolest random gifts my mom has ever gotten me:

That’s right, a remote-controlled Pikachu car! I’m happy to report that it still works after many years of sitting in a box!