Japan Envy: Nerdy Christmas Cakes

12 / 12 / 15

Christmas is just around the corner, and in Japan that means reservations for Christmas cakes are everywhere you look. While most western cultures probably associate fruit cakes with Christmas, Japan has popularized a light, usually white cake with strawberries and cream as a common Christmas eve treat. Now, Christmas cakes are so popular that they come in nearly every flavor imaginable, and every decoration imaginable, too! From Monster Hunter to Yowamushi Pedal, all kinds of nerdy fandoms are represented in Christmas cake form… And I’ve rounded up some of the best to share with you today.

Japan Envy: Pokémikke Okashi no Machi (Candy Town) Series

11 / 9 / 1511 / 9 / 15

Another day, another adorable Pokémon merchandise series I absolutely have to get my hands on! To be fair, it’s actually been a while since I wrote about Pokémon merchandise (but my last post is more than worth checking it if you haven’t already – it’s drop-dead adorable). Rest assured, I wouldn’t break my Pokémerch silence for any less than the best!

And the best it indeed is, as Pokémikke has just announced its third series, titled Okashi no Machi, or Candy Town. The new line of criminally adorable merchandise goes on sale in late November in Japan, and it just may be my favorite Pokémikke series yet! Here’s the full lineup:

Japan Envy: Kirimi-chan x KFC = Kentucky Fried Salmon

10 / 9 / 15

Sanrio’s salmon fillet mascot character Kirimi-chan has teamed up with an unlikely partner for her latest collaboration: KFC. That’s right, Kentucky Fried Chicken establishments in Japan will now be offering fried salmon, because why the hell not!

Billed as special fall Hokkaido salmon, the fried salmon will be available for one month only from October to November, both on its on with tartare sauce or in a salmon sandwich. To celebrate the collaboration, Sanrio has even created a new friend for Kirimi-chan called Agemi-chan, which comes from the Japanese for “deep fried,” or “age.”

You can head over to the official Kirimi-chan x KFC website to see the full menu, but more importantly, they have wallpapers:

At least those of us outside of Japan can have something fun to enjoy from this collaboration! In related news, somehow I totally missed this promotional video Sanrio released where Kirimi-chan transforms all of her friends into bishonen:

Kirimi-chan was never my favorite Sanrio character, but she may be growing on me…

Japan Envy: Otomate Garden Amnesia Café

9 / 25 / 15

I’m a bit late to this one because I totally missed that Otomate now has their own café! Otomate Garden, the official café for all Otomate otome game collaborations, apparently opened earlier this year in Ikebukuro last month and I completely missed the announcement. Well, it just so happens that the café’s theme for the month of September is Amnesia!

Better known as Amnesia: Memories in English, this café theme comes at a great time since the English version just came out at the end of August… Though most of us appreciating the English version of the game will sadly never have the chance to attend the café in person! At least we can drool over the menu and merchandise…

Japan Envy: Dohton Bori x Show By Rock!!

9 / 19 / 159 / 19 / 15

Let me tell you, I can’t get enough Show By Rock!!. I wrote about one Show By Rock!! café collaboration earlier this year, but this time around, the adorable app/anime series is teaming up with an entirely different venue: Dohton Bori. The okonomiyaki chain will be offering an exclusive Show By Rock!! menu through November 8th, and they’ve even decked out the members of Plasmagica and Shingancrimsonz in appropriate attire. The menu doesn’t look too shabby, either:

Japan Envy: Danganronpa Cakes from Patisserie Swallowtail

9 / 3 / 159 / 3 / 15

Why look at that, Japan is celebrating Ultra Despair Month, too! Well not really, but it’s a great coincidence that Patisserie Swallowtail is offering two rad Danganronpa-inspired cakes during the month of September. The sweets shop, which specializes in collaboration items for anime, manga, and game series popular with women, is located in Shibuya Marui on the 8th floor. If you happen to be in the area between September 9th to the 23rd, here’s what you could pick up:

The Monokuma cake is ¥750 (about $7) and contains white chocolate mousse and raspberry jelly. Yum!

The Monomi cake is also ¥750 and contains cream cheese mousse and passion cream.

Every cake purchase comes with a limited edition Danganronpa coaster:

Usually collaboration drinks are what come with coasters, but I certainly wouldn’t complain if I got one of those neat designs! Of course, which coaster you’re given when you order is random, but I’d have my eye on the Nagito or square Monomi one.

If you’re like me and have no hope of ever making it to Japan in time for this awesome collaboration, you can follow Patisserie Swallowtail on Twitter and drool over all of their various adorable creations there.

Japan Envy: Pikachu Nebukuro Collection

8 / 8 / 158 / 8 / 15

Banpresto has just announced their latest Pokémon Ichiban Kuji, and if you can’t tell already, this one’s a real doozy. The series is titled Pikachu Nebukuro (sleeping bag) Collection, and features pikachus in a variety of Pokémon-inspired sleeping bags. As if it weren’t cute enough, the website even opens with an adorable short story that shows how the pikachus ended up with such an adorable sleeping arrangement! Read More