Lemon Series Rilakkuma Plushies! + Rilakkuma Goes West!

Still feeling the summer heat? Check out these two Lemon Rilakkumas!

Lemon Series - フレッシュレモン リラックマ - full

When life gives you lemons…

Lemon Series - フレッシュレモン リラックマ - coverall detail

Beautiful blue seersucker coveralls with a lemon detail and monogram!

Lemon Series - フレッシュレモン リラックマ - hat detail

And a wonderful straw hat to protect himself from the sun!

Lemon Series - フレッシュレモン リラックマ - shorts detail

The lemon here is super soft (and comically flat), and his shorts feature a few lovely lemon blossoms!

Lemon Series - フレッシュレモン リラックマ - hat detail

A fluffy yellow lemon cap with a cute leaf detail!

Lemon Series - フレッシュレモン リラックマ - wing detail

And some dainty gossamer wings for the lemon bee Rilakkuma!

Lemon Series - フレッシュレモン リラックマ - tag art

Some lovely lemon-shaped tags! I think the art for these is excellent!

Lemon Series - フレッシュレモン リラックマ - bag

And since I placed my order through the San-X Net Shop, I was surprised by this amazing blue Rilakkuma tote bag that they included with my purchase – yay!

Eeeeee they are so cute together!! Their look is so fresh and I love the amount of detail in their outfits! I think both of their designs are an especially creative take on the lemon theme, and I am so happy that these two have joined Bear Country!

These lemon enthusiasts are from the Fresh Lemon Series, which debuted in February 2015. The lemon farmer Rilakkuma is from the standard release, and the lemon bee (fairy?) Rilakkuma is from the store exclusive release.

In other news, my wonderful Aunt Lulu just got back from a trip to Fukuoka, and was able to acquire these cute Rilakkuma plushes!

Sept Haul - 1

Strawberry Flower Koilakkuma, JAXA 2015 Rilakkuma, Rilakkuma Factory 2015 Rilakkuma, and a Factory keychain, too!

Sept Haul - 2

And look who came just in time to join the 2 other lemon Rilakkumas featured today! It’s Lemon Series Rilakkuma – Caravan Edition! Oooh and a cute mini Rilakkuma and mold set to make my own Rilakkuma rice meals :)

Wow! I’m so excited to see these bears!! They are still in the Philippines, but I will post detail photos when I see them in person!

And finally, a quick shout out to an awesome new design coming out in October: Kichijoji Rilakkuma Store 5th Anniversary Rilakkuma!

Kichijoji 5th Anniversary - cover

A snake-wrangling Korilakkuma, a sheriff badge-wearing Rilakkuma, and a lasso-toting Kiiroitori to celebrate the Kichijoji Rilakkuma Store’s 5th Anniversary! 1680円 each.

Wow! Super cute, and “American West” themed! As a xerophyte fan, I was hoping San-X would integrate cacti into one of the designs bahahaha, but I’m happy with the little cartoon cacti in the illustration lol.

Like the Sapporo and Umeda Stores, Kichijoji’s anniversary event is part of the Rilakkuma World Tour, where each Rilakkuma Store in Japan represents a special part of the world during their anniversary – great!! I’m so jealous of anyone who is able to make it out to this anniversary event on October 10 – they will also have a cowboy Rilakkuma mascot too!!

I think as an American, I’m obligated to get these haha, so I think I’ll go for the Rilakkuma and Korilakkuma hehe.

It’s funny how the cowboy wild west imagery has persisted for so long – I remember when I was in the Philippines for July 4 one year, we went to a buffet that was US Independence Day themed for the night, and all the waitstaff were wearing cowboy hats and boots! Though I think the connection between cowboys and Independence Day is kind of a reach hahaha, it was actually a really lovely meal that featured chili con carne and apple pie lmao so it was really fun and oddly comforting to see what things represented the US abroad.

How do y’all feel when you see your home country represented when you travel abroad?

Anyways, in real life news, I’m still working my butt off in internal medicine, but I get a lot of independence and responsibility now, so I’m really starting to feel like a doctor! I’ve got 3 more weeks of internal medicine inpatient work, then I’m off to do outpatient work! Just when I get settled doing one thing, I always have to switch gears haha, but I suppose that’s how 3rd year medical school goes. Until next time, take care!

Strawberry Series Rilakkuma Plushie – Caravan Edition! + Rilakkuma sales + New! Cat Series Sneak Peek!

中秋節快樂! Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

To celebrate the beautiful harvest moon, check out this blast from the past: Strawberry Series Caravan Rilakkuma!

Strawberry Series Caravan - full

As side-facing Rilakkuma just like the recent Space Series Kiddyland Exclusive and Caravan Exclusive!

Strawberry Series Caravan - strawberry detail

Super cute strawberry blossom on the straw-bear-ry!

Strawberry Series Caravan - tag art

Tag art! Rilakkuma clinging to a suspiciously non-bear-shaped strawberry.

Yum! I feel like I can never say no to a strawbear! I love the simplicity of this design :)

This bear was the Caravan Exclusive design for the Strawberry Series that came out in February 2009 – wow!

Totally an impulse buy, and such a steal! I usually browse through the Rilakkuma auctions on Yahoo Japan for stress relief haha, and grabbed this guy for just 500円 – that’s less than $5 USD!

Speaking of buying, there are a couple of sales going on in the Rilakkuma fan community!

Sale - Ane

For sale by Ane!

For Rilakkuma fans in the United States, Ane is selling:

  • Staying Up Late (夜ふかし) Rilakkuma (with tag) and Kiiroitori (without tag), both in good condition, originally released October 2009. Discounts available if both are purchased together.
  • Fansclub Sweets & Sweets Rilakkuma (new with tag), originally released February 2012.
  • Rilakkuma and Korilakkuma keychains for $5-6.

For inquires, please contact Ane at brightcrested@gmail.com.

And furthermore, famed and former Rilakkuma blogger Mary/Moggymawee is selling her ENTIRE Rilakkuma collection!

Sale - moggymawee

All for sale by Mary!

Check out her collection on Facebook – a few of her plushies will be listed on eBay, too!

Her collection is super expansive with lots of amazing plushies from throughout the years. All of her plushies have never been played with, and all have their original tags.

If you’re interested, please message Mary at korimary5@gmail.com!

Mary was the Rilakkuma blogger who inspired me to start blogging – how exciting that her entire collection is for sale!

My wallet is weak from the summer releases still, but hopefully some of you can take part in this!

In other news: San-X is at the Tokyo International Gift Show! Is that a sneak peak of the upcoming Cat Series I see?

Tokyo Gift Show 2014 - cats

I spy a taiyaki Rilakkuma plushie!

Wow! In addition to a taiyaki Rilakkuma (YAY), I also spy some giant Korilakkuma/Kiiroitori cats, a lounging Rilakkuma with kitten, a kitten Korilakkuma in a box, and Kiiroitori in a sailor’s outfit! What other new designs can you spot?

Looks like there are a lot of great things to come in the up coming year for the Rilakkuma world!

San-X also had a lot of other cool displays at the Gift Show this year:

Tokyo Gift Show 2014 - collabs

A display about their awesome collabs from this year! JAXA, JINS PC, and Rilakkuma’s tribute to Claude Monet’s La Japonaise – beautiful! (I have 2 of these bears!)

Tokyo Gift Show 2014 - transportation

And all of their transportation-themed bears! (I have one from each of these series!)

Fantastic! I love seeing Rilakkuma displays so I can get ideas for my own home display hehehe.

Have you heard about the Hello Kitty convention coming to the US at the end of October? I hope Rilakkuma will get popular enough to have a convention in the US eventually, too!

And finally, in Sumikko Gurashi news, check out this fabulous Sumikko Gurashi Christmas 2014 Net Shop Exclusive!

Sumikko Gurashi Christmas 2014 Net Shop Exclusive - full

Whoa! I love red-nosed reindeer Tonkatsu!

Sumikko Gurashi Christmas 2014 Net Shop Exclusive - individuals

What a incredibly cute design! Love the little Santa Shirokuma sneaking around hehehe.

Sumikko Gurashi Christmas 2014 Net Shop Exclusive - story

Hehehe look at this cute little story!

Couldn’t let Rilakkuma and friends have all the fun this year!

As always, the details are incredible! From the little crane claw in the corner to the pickle in the stocking (I especially love that the home is made of soft bricks), everything is so adorably cute and detailed!

This handsome set is 7,500円. Pre-orders are open from now until September 30, with delivery expected in December.

Haha lots of holiday news recently – do I have to start getting into the holiday mood? It’s still in the 90’s here in Florida, so it still feels like summer!

Lawson Vegetable Rilakkuma, Korilakkuma, and Kiiroitori Plushies! Cat Series LEAK + Space Rilakkuma Caravan news and more!

Have you been eating healthy lately? Well if you need a little health food inspiration, check out these Vegetable Rilakkuma plushies!

Lawson Vegetable Series - full

So cute in their own produce crates!! Dang, it’s good to see Korilakkuma in a pair of shorts – usually it’s Rilakkuma hahaha.

Lawson Vegetable Series - top view

Wheee look how adorable Rilakkuma’s little carrot shoes are!! :D

Lawson Vegetable Series - Kii detail

Along with holding the vegetable they’re dressed as, they are also accompanied by an additional veggie in the crate that’s another costume in the series: cabbage for Rilakkuma, tomato for Korilakkuma, and carrot for Kiiroitori!

Lawson Vegetable Series - tag art

Tag art that mimics produce price tags! Each tag has the portrait of the character, and the veggie! These tags are held by a standard plastic tag ring in the back corner of the crate.

I really love them! They’re so great in their little produce boxes, and they certainly make me hungry just looking at them mmmmm

This healthy set of bears is part of the Lawson x Rilakkuma Vegetable Series released March 2014 – the complete set includes another 3 plushies: Rilakkuma cabbage, Korilakkuma tomato, and Kiiroitori green pepper – yum!

Also exciting news rolling in about the next leaked series after the Space Series, it’s the Cat Series!

Cat Series - ad standard

Roar!! Rilakkuma looks a lot like the Year of the Tiger series from 2010! And Kiiroitori is a Calico cat – did you know all Calico cats are female?

Cat Series - ad special

And look at these alternative designs – bears as cats you can fit in the palm of your hand, and ones big enough to hug!

Cat Series - ad illustration

And of course, a beautiful illustration to go with the products! I love the little non-costumed kitty they’re with, too!

Cat Series - taiyaki ad

Yum!! Looks like Cat Rilakkuma loves taiyaki!

Meow what a cool concept! Looks like San-X is sticking to animal suits for their fall series as they’ve been doing for the past few years. No official dates yet, but I would estimate October based on the pattern of previous years? San-X usually gives us 3 months to recuperate after the yearly July wave haha. I’ll keep you updated when San-X starts to release official news updates!

Thanks so much to reader Jennifer for the tip!! I’m actually pretty severely allergic to cats, so it’s probably fitting that the main cat I’d be able to interact with in person is a Rilakkuma cat hahaha.

And since it looks like Cat Rilakkuma loves to eat taiyaki (鯛焼き), a Japanese sea bream-shaped pastry dessert with yummy filling, we’d probably make fast friends! From the looks of it, Rilakkuma likes the chocolate-filled ones, just like me hehehe. I’ll probably try to pick up at least one item from this series, and I’m hoping one of the caravan or store exclusive plushies features taiyaki!! :)

Well, the Rilakkuma rains don’t show signs of stopping haha, as even more waves of news follow the Space Rilakkuma announcement from last week! Check out the Space Rilakkuma Caravan design!

Space Rilakkuma Caravan - ad

Whoa, that lining is out of this world! ;)

How special! Rilakkuma’s pose reminds me a lot of the Skytree set from 2012! And super lovely touch that Rilakkuma is holding the same plush bear planet that the costume bearsuits in the caravan will be holding as well!

This cosmic caravan will be going from July 12 to August 31 in various locations all across Japan, and this caravan exclusive plushie will be 1,780円.

Out of the blue, San-X also announced a mobile site exclusive Happy Natural Time playset!

Happy Natural Time Mobile Site Exclusive Playset - ad

Wow, look at all the different pies!

Whaaaat – ! I totally would’ve gotten this set if it were released with the rest of the Happy Natural Time series last year! They do look so cute eating their pies haha.

The whole set is 6,800円 – dang, bad timing for me with all of the other releases going on now, but maybe I’ll try looking for it again when the July buzz dies down a little.

And finally, to come full circle with the food theme I began this post with, San-X also released more merchandise with the Purple Yam and Green Bean pattern!

Green Bean and Purple Yam Pattern - ad

Perfect colors for the summer!

Yum! Recall that the first iteration of this purple yam and green bean pattern was back in May, and featured fans and smartphone cleaners – glad to see they expanded it into pouches and kitchenware! A pretty fitting application for this pattern, I think!

Importantly, haha, it’s great to see that Rilakkuma eats a balanced diet with lots of vegatables! Who knew Rilakkuma could become my food inspiration hahaha

Aloha Rilakkuma Fansclub Plushie!

Is it summer yet? Hahaha it certainly feels like it here in Florida – the weather is really heating up, and I’ve exchanged long pants and jackets for shorts and tank tops!

That makes it a perfect day to introduce Fansclub Aloha Rilakkuma!

Fansclub Aloha Rilakkuma - full

What an adorable hula dancer!

Fansclub Aloha Rilakkuma - lei detail

Check out his flower lei!

Fansclub Aloha Rilakkuma - tag art

Tag art!

Fansclub Aloha Rilakkuma - family

Aloha family photo featuring the Aloha Rilakkuma Caravan plushie and Lawson playset!

Doesn’t he look happy with all of his Aloha Rilakkuma family? So relaxed!

I do love this series a lot because it shows Rilakkuma doing so many activities: grocery shopping, hula dancing, surfing, and even sun tanning!

This adorable hula-dancing Rilakkuma was released by Fansclub in April 2013, during the height of the Aloha Rilakkuma release! He really gets me in the mood for sunny skies and warm weather :)

Thank you so much again and again to Trinie, for sharing this beautiful and relaxing Aloha Rilakkuma with me – he really fits in so well with the all of the other Aloha bears! :D

In other news, there are a few new things in the Rilakkuma world, like the Stripes Stripes Everyday Series Caravan plushie!

Stripes Stripes Everyday Caravan - Korilakkuma

Striped booties and a striped penguin!

Stripes Stripes Everyday Caravan - announcement

Penguin Rilakkuma and Polar Bear Korilakkuma will be at the Caravan holding Penguin Kiiroitori and a striped bear of their own! (I don’t think I’ve seen Korilakkuma wearing shorts before!)

How cute, a Korilakkuma caravan plushie! So nice to see the other members of the Rilakkuma crew getting some attention!

Simon, our resident Rilakkuma artist, really loves the little plush striped bear that appears in this series – I think he wants one just like the one featured in the caravan (bottom left corner), but I don’t think they’re for sale haha. I do like those Rilakkuma proportions for a maybe Craftholic-inspired bear hehehe.

And I’m also happy to share that another iteration of the Enherb x Rilakkuma collaboration was just released for this spring!

Rilakkuma x Enherb 2014 - Spring ad

Herbal tea can be perfect even when it’s sunny and hot out!

Rilakkuma x Enherb 2014 - Spring lineup

What a great selection of springtime flavors!

I love this collaboration! The strawberry rose honey looks really yummy, and I always love the illustrations that are paired with the teas :)

That’s all for now – off to study antibiotics! I hope everyone is enjoying the season!

Happy Natural Time Caravan design announced!

Whew, I feel like I’ve been waiting for an eternity for this design to be announced, but San-X finally released the Happy Natural Time Caravan design at long last!

Happy Natural Time Series - Caravan design

Is he supposed to be holding an owl for real this time, or is that supposed to be Kiiroitori?

How cute! I really love plushie designs that have alternative positioning!

That being said, I’m probably going to pass on this one since it just looks like a position and slight design variation on the original Happy Natural Time line. I was hoping to drop my money on a more pie-related plushie, but this guy is so cute nonetheless! I’d love to hear if you plan on getting him, and I can’t wait to see everyone else’s close up photos!

Hope everyone’s October is going well! Simon and I carved pumpkins yesterday with our medical school class, and it was a blast! The weather has been cooling down a lot from its usual blistering heat, so it’s definitely beginning to feel like fall!

Simon carved a Rilakkuma pumpkin hehehe:

Rilakkuma pumpkin - 2013

Yay!

Eeee so cute when it’s lit up! Since this was taken on my phone at the school, I’ll try to take another photo on my better camera with my Rilakkuma plushie too when it gets closer to Halloween :D

Bonjour Series Rilakkuma Plushie – Caravan Edition!

Bonjour Rilakkuma - box

Is it cheese? Is it honey?

Who could be inside this Cheese Honey box?

It’s Bonjour Rilakkuma – Caravan Edition!

This is a plushie I’ve wanted since I first started learning about Rilakkuma a year ago!

Bonjour Series Rilakkuma - full

Bonjour!

Bonjour Series Rilakkuma - baguette

Giant baguette!

Bonjour Series Rilakkuma - beret

Cute poofy beret!

Bonjour Series Rilakkuma - lining

And his pocket lining has both blue and red polka dots, compared to the usual light blue only spots!

Bonjour Series Rilakkuma - tag

Tag art! The Rilakkuma on the tag looks more like the regular release, but his paper bag says “La boulangerie de Rilakkuma” (Rilakkuma Bakery).

This plushie was released as a part of the French-themed Bonjour Series in March 2010. Appropriately, this Rilakkuma’s color scheme matches the French flag: red, white, and blue!

He is a Caravan plushie, which means that he was part of a special additional release during the Bonjour Series time. The Rilakkuma Caravan is a seasonal affair where San-X holds special Rilakkuma events at stores and locations all over Japan – not just the 8 Rilakkuma Stores! They bring out the big Rilakkuma/Korilakkuma/Kiiroitori suits, and there’s a chance to take photos. Most important (for me) is that they also sell these special plushies that are design variants of the major series of the moment. Right now, the caravan is Rilakkuma Wonderland themed!

This Bonjour plushie is my third caravan plushie (my others are the Aloha Caravan and the Egg Caravan).

Yay, I’m so excited to have won this! Liemzie (Tea Two Sugars Please) has the most incredible luck in the world and found not one, but TWO of these super rare bears (WOW) and put this one up on auction.

To celebrate this plushie, and maybe help him feel less homesick for France (hahaha), we baked some croissants!

Well so actually, croissants are thought to have originated in Austria, but they been of a staple of French bakeries for centuries! So welcome home, Bonjour Rilakkuma!

Bonjour Series Rilakkuma - croissants

Yum!

Speaking of croissants, this is one of my favorite Disney shorts – it’s croissant themed!

Too cute!

In addition, I was also pleasantly surprised to find some extra Rilakkuma goodies in the box:

Bonjour Series Rilakkuma - extras

Rilakkuma Wonderland stationary and a Korilakkuma finger puppet!

Ahhh so awesome! Thanks so much, Liemzie!

Also hahaha, if you look closely at the stationary design second from the left, there’s a Rilakkuma riding a horse in the background that looks just like the Rilakkuma Wonderland Store exclusive… except he has teeth like the Wonderland Caravan plushie! I wonder if Rilakkuma’s teeth are going to be more and more visible now?

Whew! Opening my mailbox and finding Rilakkuma stuff always makes my week! :) :) :) Which is just in time because I have my first medical school exam tomorrow! Maybe I’ll bring a Rilakkuma along for good luck hahaha.