Wishlist – Rilakkuma x Lawson Aloha Rilakkuma Plushie!

I originally wasn’t planning on purchasing any of the Aloha Rilakkuma series (mainly because the Zodiac order took a chunk out of my Rilakkuma budget), but I definitely want to order the new Lawson Aloha Rilakkuma plushie!

Check out these great details!

Rilakkuma x Lawson - Aloha Rilakkuma - full

Comes with 8 individual parts!

Rilakkuma x Lawson - Aloha Rilakkuma - Rilakkuma, cart, and lei

Rilakkuma comes with removable lei! The shopping cart is attached though. He looks pretty sassy haha

Rilakkuma x Lawson - Aloha Rilakkuma - Korilakkuma and Kiiroitori

Looks like Kiiroitori’s holding the money! Korilakkuma’s brought along her penguin and… her very own Aloha Rilakkuma plushie?

Rilakkuma x Lawson - Aloha Rilakkuma - bag and honey

Lawson shopping bag, and a Kiiroitori shaped bottle of honey!

Rilakkuma x Lawson - Aloha Rilakkuma - cookies and coffee

One of my favorite details: Rilakkuma cookies and coffee!

This super cute set will be released in late June (the 20th) – though pre-orders will be taken from now to April 15. I am looking forward to this release very much!

ETA (8/2/13): Acquired!

In other news, I’m presenting at ECAASU this weekend! Been hard at work preparing slides and speeches, so I may be MIA for bit. It’s been really fun preparing for this presentation because half of it is about Rilakkuma/San-X hahaha – the best kind of work!

Happy Valentine’s Day from Rilakkuma Lifestyle!

Valentines Day - Rilakkuma 1

Mmmm… chocolate!

valentines-4

Which one will he pick?

Hooray! A teddy bear and chocolates – how appropriate for Valentine’s Day!

Valentine’s Day brings up a lot of silly memories for me. When I was in high school, my boyfriend at the time gave me a dozen roses and a teddy bear – attached to the teddy bear was a piece of lettuce and a note that said “Lettuce be together” hahahahaha.

Wishing everyone a wonderful Valentine’s Day – if not for love/romance, then definitely for the chocolate and candy!

Kinokuniya – NYC!

I visited NYC last week (just before Nemo – so scary!), and checked out Kinokuniya!

Kinokuniya is a Japanese bookstore chain (the largest in Japan) with locations all around the world. Most importantly for me, of course, is that they’re licensed sellers of San-X items!

The San-X display was super cute! There was a TV looping Rilakkuma animations at the entrance. They had a small bin of collectible theme plushies, but mostly older releases that my family already owns (like Chicken Rilakkuma); however, they did have a pretty sizable stock of unthemed (naked) Rilakkumas, even the big life-size (165 cm) one!

While I was there, resisting a splurge, I picked up a few gifts – I’m so lucky to have people in my life who love Rilakkuma as much as I do!

Kinokuniya - store

A corner of the store devoted to San-X & Rilakkuma!

Kinokuniya - purchases

My purchases! A Tamago Series Rilakkuma stationary set for myself, Rilakkuma picture book and Tonkatsu cell phone cleaner charm for my sister, and Rilakkuma Café Series key covers for Simon!

Kinokuniya - Rilakkuma picture book

The Rilakkuma picture book has the best illustrations! A gift for my sister, who can actually read Japanese.

Yay! Hopefully I’ll have a chance to visit more stores around the US that stock Rilakkuma things to compare – so far, I’ve only been here and Maido in SF, and they have approximately the same stock (though Kinokuniya has more non-Rilakkuma San-X products).

Happy Lunar New Year from Rilakkuma Lifestyle!

Lunar New Year Rilakkuma

Relaxed Rilakkuma! (redundant?)

It’s the year of the water snake!

My family likes to celebrate by eating 2 fish, dumplings, noodles (my personal favorite), oranges, and pineapples – not all in the same dish though haha. We also wear brand new clothes and clean out the house to symbolize a fresh start to the new lunar cycle.

Best wishes to everyone for a wonderful new year :)

Sagittarius Rilakkuma Plushie!

Last up from the Zodiac pack (for now): Sagittarius Rilakkuma!

Sagittarius (♐) is represented by the archer. In Greek mythology, Sagittarius is half-human, half horse – but Sagittarius Rilakkuma is just 100% bear hahaha.

Sagittarius Rilakkuma - full body shot

My brother’s sign!

Sagittarius - bow and arrow

LOVE that bear detail that arrow!

Sagittarius Rilakkuma - back

A quiver full of arrows, too!

Wah I know I say this all the time but WOW at the details! The little arrows with bears are sooo adorable, and I absolutely love how they gave him a quiver with two individual arrows in the back. Also, the bow string is made of elastic which makes it seem like Rilakkuma could really shoot arrows with it! Incredible!

Scorpio Rilakkuma Plushie!

Next from the Zodiac Series batch, here’s Scorpio Rilakkuma!

Scorpio (♏), as the name might imply, is represented by the scorpion.

I’m not really sure why Rilakkuma’s scorpion is bright pink, but he sure is cute (and non-threatening) – friendliest-looking scorpion ever!

Scorpio Rilakkuma - full body shot

My, what big claws you have!

Scorpio Rilakkuma - side

Cute scorpion tail in the back!

Scorpio Rilakkuma - head

His little scorpion eyes are so soft and fuzzy!

Scorpio mythology is so cool: as the myth goes, Orion boasted to Artemis that he would kill every creature on Earth. Artemis offered protection to the creatures, and she and her mother sent a scorpion to deal with Orion. The scorpion won, and Zeus raised the scorpion to heaven as the constellation. At Artemis’ request, Zeus also did the same for Orion, to serve as a reminder for mortals to curb their excessive pride.

Just desserts?

Cancer Rilakkuma Plushie!

In the middle of the big Zodiac Rilakkuma group is Cancer Rilakkuma!

Cancer is my sister’s sign, but I probably would’ve ordered this plushie regardless because he’s just too cute!

Cancer (♋) is represented by the crab, though hahaha looks like this Rilakkuma is more like a cooked crab – most crabs/lobsters only turn bright red after they’re cooked.

Cancer Rilakkuma - full body shot

Cooked crab Rilakkuma!

Cancer Rilakkuma - head detail

Bahaha it looks like the hole for the face is a big crab mouth with Rilakkuma inside.

Cancer Rilakkuma - feet

Each Rilakkuma plushie in this series has the astrological sign embroidered in gold.

In Greek mythology, Karkinos (a crab) is thought to have distracted Hercules as he battled the Hydra. Though there are variations on the myth, one version claims that the crab pinched Hercules and was crushed by Hercules’ foot, and Hera rewarded its sacrifice by immortalizing it as a constellation in the sky.

Now, Cancer has been immortalized as a Rilakkuma plushie – awesome!

Gemini Rilakkuma Plushie!

Next up from the Zodiac Series: Gemini Rilakkuma!

Gemini (♊) is represented by the twins Castor and Pollux. In Classical mythology, Castor (the mortal brother) is killed, and Pollux (the immortal brother) chooses to let Castor share some of his immortality, and for this, they alternate between Olympus and Hades.

For this series, Gemini is represented by Rilakkuma holding two twin Korilakkumas!

Gemini Rilakkuma - full body shot

Twin Korilakkumas! Rilakkuma’s arms are locked in, though.

Gemini Rilakkuma - close-up

The detailing is so beautiful – the Korilakkumas have their signature red button, and full outfits!

Gemini Rilakkuma - star back detail

The back of the “R” star charm (present on every member of this Zodiac series) has a tribute to Rilakkuma’s 10th anniversary!

So many beautiful details! I love how golden and sparkly this series is – these Rilakkumas are so regal and angelic!

This plushie is kinda special because his embroidered gold star is on his right shoulder in the back instead of on his paw like the others. Also, he’s kind of like 3 plushies in one!

Taurus Rilakkuma Plushie!

First up from the 10th Anniversary Zodiac Rilakkuma order is Taurus Rilakkuma!

Taurus (♉) is symbolized by the bull: in Greek mythology, Taurus is connected to Zeus, who disguised himself as a white bull to abduct the Phoenician princess Europa (how rude).

Today, Taurus Rilakkuma is dressed like a little Holstein bull with a bright red collar!

Taurus Rilakkuma - full body shot

Taurus is my sign!

Taurus RIlakkuma - back shot

He has star-shaped spots!

Taurus Rilakkuma - head close-up

I love his little cow ears!

San-X actually released Rilakkuma (and Korilakkuma) in a full cow suit back in 2008. Seems like Rilakkuma appears in a cow outfit every 5 years!

How to order internationally from the San-X Net Shop using Tenso!

San-X Net Shop - Box

Buy directly from the official San-X Net Shop!

First off, the San-X Net Shop is a great way to access Rilakkuma products if you don’t live in Japan. They have hundreds of Rilakkuma items in stock, and they also run a pretty fun blog with additional product photos. They generally don’t stock the store/event exclusives, but they do have cool Net Shop exclusives from time to time (like Mushroom Rilakkuma/Squirrel Korilakkuma), and a ton of housewares. Importantly, items are released on the same day as Japanese Rilakkuma Store releases (stores outside of Japan will generally have a delay).

The San-X Net Shop, operated by emix, does not ship internationally, but they do work closely with Tenso, an international shipping service. You can even see a little Tenso ad at the bottom of the San-X Net Shop home page! There are a few other international forwarding services like it, but I trust Tenso because it is recommended by the San-X Net Shop.

As for cost, in addition to the cost of the plushies/purchases:

  1. San-X will charge a flat 500 yen local shipping fee (~5.53 USD), shipping (with tracking) took ~3 days for me
  2. Tenso will charge a 490 yen service fee (~5.42 USD)
  3. Tenso will charge an EMS delivery fee (depending on weight) – I paid 2220 yen shipping (~24.54 USD) for 5 plushies, and shipping (with tracking) was super fast, ~4 days (I live in Florida)
  4. Your credit card company MAY charge a international service fee (check your credit card policy – some do not add this charge, like travel rewards cards)

In this partnership, Tenso has come out with a short guide (in English) on to how to order from the San-X Net Shop using their service. It’s great and succinct, but I’ll expand on a few points after the jump:

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