Tag Archives: rilakkuma plushies

February Rilakkuma Store Exclusives!

OMG! To celebrate the Tokyo Station Rilakkuma Store’s 4th anniversary, San-X is releasing these cute new Tokyo Station-exclusive fruit dessert Rilakkuma plushies!

They’ll only be sold at a special birthday event at the Tokyo Station Rilakkuma Store this February.

Tokyo Station 4th Anniversary Series - announcement

Fruit shorts!

They look so snug and yummy!

But that’s not all!

In addition to the previously announced Aloha Rilakkuma series, Rilakkuma Stores all over Japan will also be stocking these special, Rilakkuma store-exclusive Aloha Rilakkuma series plushies next month as well! (Maybe some will end up at the San-X Net Shop, too?)

Aloha Rilakkuma Store Exclusive - announcement

I want a pair of Rilakkuma-shaped sunglasses too!

Wah, so many new releases!

Can’t decide if I’ll order any of these for sure since San-X releases these new series faster than my wallet grows, but we’ll see!

Outdoors Rilakkuma UFO Catcher Plushie!

While the last UFO plushies were gifts, I got this one for myself: it’s Rilakkuma holding a kabob! He was part of an outdoors series (アウトドアごっこ) released by Fansclub and San-X in July 2011.

Kabob Rilakkuma - full body shot

Ready to go camping!

Kabob Rilakkuma - kabob detail

Rilakkuma has cooked a yummy kabob! And he’s wearing a nice yellow bib in case he makes a mess.

Seeing this plushie on Fansclub was actually what prompted me to make my first big Rilakkuma UFO catcher plushie purchase earlier – San-X hasn’t released anything like this design in their standard 22 cm collectible size (the style I usually order), so that convinced me to make the leap!

I’m so glad I did, because he is a wonderful addition to my largely food-themed Rilakkuma collection. Yay!

Yukata Rilakkuma & Korilakkuma UFO Catcher Plushies!

My first UFO catcher plushie purchase!

It’s Rilakkuma and Korilakkuma wearing yukata! This series was released by Fansclub & San-X in June 2011.

Yukata are a kind of casual kimono worn during hot seasons – so Rilakkuma and Korilakkuma are perfectly dressed for a nice summer’s day!

Yukata Rilakkuma and Korilakkuma - full body shot

What a beautiful color scheme!

Yukata Rilakkuma and Korilakkuma - fan detail

Matching fans!

Yukata Rilakkuma and Korilakkuma - back

Obis tied into bows in the back!

As Fansclub UFO catcher plushies, they are constructed a little differently than the non-UFO catcher ones, notably in the materials, seaming, and size (they’re a few cm smaller).

I gave this cute pair to my parents for their wedding anniversary last week! So cute! They remind me of my parents hahaha.

Sapporo 1st Anniversary Rilakkuma!

I guess the holiday season means getting through my wishlist!

Simon bought me a new addition to my poncho-riffic Rilakkuma collection: Sapporo 1st Anniversary Rilakkuma!

This plushie was released as a Sapporo Rilakkuma store exclusive to celebrate the branch’s 1 year anniversary – congrats to them!

Sapporo 1st Anniversary Rilakkuma - full body shot

Welcome to the family!

Sapporo 1st Anniversary Rilakkuma - back view

Happy birthday celebration message on the back!

Sapporo 1st Anniversary Rilakkuma - front hood detail

Love the mint leaf detail and fuzzy trim!

Ever since his release in September, I’ve always had my eye on him: he was actually the first plushie on my wishlist! I hope they make more ice cream Rilakkumas in the years to come.

On an unrelated note: I’ve created a twitter account that will post updates on this WP blog and the tumblr, in addition to random Rilakkuma links and updates. Follow me @KumaLifestyle! Apparently @RilakkumaLifestyle is 2 too many characters lol.

Anyway, now that family is coming in for the holidays, I’ll probably take a bit of a hiatus to spend time with them. Happy holidays!

Mushroom Rilakkuma & Squirrel Korilakkuma!

New arrivals: Mushroom Rilakkuma and Squirrel Korilakkuma! This set was a San-X Net Shop exclusive from October-November 2010, as a special release from the Forest Series.

Mushroom Rilakkuma - front view

Hello Mushroom Rilakkuma!

Mushroom Rilakkuma - side view

I think Simon’s planning on planting him a flowerpot haha.

One of my favorite aspects of this release is that the San-X Net Shop manager came out with a series of really silly blog posts/photos featuring the Mushroom Rilakkuma: waiting for the elevator, appearing from behind a table, chilling on a staircase, and being used as an arm rest. I guess the San-X employees love him a lot too!

Squirrel Korilakkuma - front view

Hello Squirrel Korilakkuma!

Squirrel Korilakkuma - side view

These photos doesn’t do her justice – her squirrel suit is so soft!

They are both pretty huge: Mushroom Rilakkuma (Shroom Koom? Mushkuma?) is only 24 cm tall, but with a 27 cm diameter, he’s much rounder/wider than everyone else. Squirrel Korilakkuma towers over everyone else at half a meter!

They will be going to Simon – we actually really lucked out on this purchase because we weren’t even looking for this set when the opportunity presented itself! We were just looking into the Misdo plushie, and it turned out that the seller was just liquidating their Rilakkuma stock in general. Wow!

Misdo Rilakkuma!

Hooray! My Misdo Rilakkuma plushie came in yesterday!

He had been on my wishlist since last week (short hunt haha), so I was really excited to finally see him today!

Misdo Rilakkuma - full body shot

Welcome to the family!

Misdo Rilakkuma - logo closeup

Yum!

Misdo Rilakkuma - tag closeup

Tag close-up

Yay! He’s so cute! He stands out a little right now because he’s smaller/sitting down – he’s so special! Love him already :) Thanks, Simon!

Fansclub UFO Catchers!

Ah, the wonderful world of UFO catchers!

A UFO catcher is a kind of claw machine game popular in Japan. Compared to their Western counterparts, UFO catchers generally have 2 prongs instead of 3 or 4. From my experience, in the US, claw machines just have a random assortment of things, but Fansclub took it to another level and stocked their machines with Rilakkuma. Jealous!

These plushies are genuine San-X licensed – they’re just not sold in stores! You have to earn them by mastering the art of UFO catching. They come in different sizes, materials, and designs from the store releases.

However, sometimes, Fansclub and San-X come out with very similar Rilakkuma designs. Take the Marine Series, for example:

Marine Series - Rilakkuma and Korilakkuma

Store release (~22 cm)

Fansclub Marine Series - UFO catcher plushies

Fansclub release (~17-20 cm)

Fansclub Marine Series - UFO catcher plushies XL

Fansclub XL release (~50 cm)

Wow, super similar! But all legitimate :)

One great thing: Fansclub does a hell of a job cataloging their UFO catcher plushies and other prizes. If you have a lot of time on your hands, you can stroll through their entire catalog of prizes, by series name and release date. San-X has been partnered with Fansclub for a long time, so there are hundreds of Rilakkuma UFO catcher plushies out there!

I generally gravitate towards the standard 22 cm plushies, but I love that these Rilakkuma plushies come in so many different designs!

Wishlist – Sandwich Rilakkuma! (ACQUIRED!)

I really enjoy browsing old San-X archives, but I always end up wanting more Rilakkuma…

This time, it’s Sandwich Rilakkuma! Sold only at the Tokyo Station (during its 1 year anniversary) and Umeda stores in February 2010, this set was a special edition release as part of the Bon Voyage/Bonjour series – an entire series seemingly dedicated to Rilakkuma’s love of baguettes.

Bon Voyage Series - Sandwich

Rilakkuma and friends go to Paris!

What a big sandwich! Maybe Rilakkuma looks like he’s already eaten too much.

Speaking of sandwiches, apparently the term “sandwich” was coined by John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, who is said to have invented the combination of meat and bread so that he wouldn’t get his hands greasy while playing cribbage! I wonder how he would feel if he saw Rilakkuma feasting on his invention today?

Since this is a limited store-only release from a few years back, I’ll have my work cut out for me when I get around to hunting this one down. I’ve also been eying this Caravan edition from the same series. Maybe I can ask for one of these for my birthday next year?

ETA (9/18/13): Acquired!

Rilakkuma Hawaii!

So San-X announced the Rilakkuma Hawaii Series a few weeks back, which is set to be released in February 2013.

Aloha Rilakkuma Series

Ready for the beach!

Because it was announced before I even started this blog (!), I wasn’t originally planning on making a post about them until their official release, but San-X just announced that they’ve teamed up with H.I.S., a Japanese travel agency, to offer a special Rilakkuma-themed Hawaiian vacation! You get a Rilakkuma travel tote filled with gifts, and the room is fitted with Rilakkuma plushies everywhere!

Rilakkuma Hawaii - Holiday Inn

Holiday Inn Waikiki Beachcomber Room

Rilakkuma Hawaii - Sheraton

Sheraton Waikiki Hotel Room

Seems like paradise to me!