Tag Archives: rilakkuma plushies

Bathtime (with heart) Series Rilakkuma Plushie!

So in addition to being welcomed back home with family and a comfortable bed after a long trip to NYC, I was also welcomed back with new Rilakkuma plushies! My mom had a layover at the Narita International Airport, and there’s a souvenir store there that carries San-X products!

One of the plushies she brought back for me was Bathtime (with heart) Rilakkuma! Released in July 2012, this series also features some pretty great Caravan and Limited Edition designs (and then some)!

Bathtime Series - full body shot

Ready for a bubble bath!

Bathtime Series - shower cap detail

He’s got his own personalized shower cap!

Bathtime Series - front bubble detail

Hard to see, but the bubbles on his right leg are heart shaped!

Bathtime Series - back

Bubbles on the back! Looks like a little bunny tail hahaha

After such a busy week, he makes me want a relaxing bubble bath too now…

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:

Continue reading →

Arrival of 10th Anniversary Zodiac Series Rilakkuma Plushies!

Exciting news!

My 10th Anniversary Zodiac Series Rilakkumas came in today!

This was also my first time ordering from the San-X Net Shop. Even though Net Shop is almost entirely in Japanese, the whole process was surprisingly fast and easy – even for someone completely illiterate in Japanese like me.

Zodiac Rilakkuma arrival - box

My first San-X box, too!

Zodiac Rilakkuma arrival - open box

Who’s inside?

Zodiac Rilakkuma arrival - all

From left to right: Gemini, Sagittarius, Scorpio, Taurus, & Cancer

Although images of this series have been out for months (one of my earliest blog posts, actually!), they were officially released just last week (1/19)!

This zodiac/astrology series is 12 plushies strong, and commemorates Rilakkuma’s 10 year anniversary! I only ordered 5 because I’m not made of money, but maybe I’ll collect the full set one day. Wow, San-X is sure doing it big this year for Rilakkuma’s 10th birthday!

Stay tuned for individual posts (and close-up photos) on each of them later this week!

ETA: If you’re curious about how to buy from Tenso, I wrote a guide!

Mikan Rilakkuma UFO Catcher Plushie!

Last but not least from the big UFO catcher batch: Mikan Rilakkuma! He was released into the UFO catcher wild by Fansclub and San-X in December 2011.

Mikan (Citrus unshiu) are citrus fruits of Japanese origin, and are also known as satsuma mandarins or satsuma oranges. We actually have a tree full of these out in our yard – yum!

Mikan Rilakkuma - full body shot

Hello Mikan Rilakkuma!

Mikan Rilakkuma - hat detail

Cute citrus hat!

Mikan Rilakkuma - scarf

Lovely scarf with fuzzy citrus details on both ends!

Because of Chinese tradition and symbolism (and some clever wordplay), my family loves to display and serve oranges to ring in the new year since our word for “fortune/success” sounds similar to the word for “orange”.

This Rilakkuma will also help us welcome the lunar new year next month as well – how auspicious for this Rilakkuma to join the family at the start of 2013!