“Mommy, when I grow up, can I be a Furry?” If you needed further proof that anything Ken can do, Barbie can do better, look no further than the toy aisle of Yodobashi Camera! Not only can Barbie legit attend cosplay conventions without showing her face, she’s got a choice of bunny, puppy or pandaContinueContinue reading “Cosplay Barbie, expert level”
Category Archives: Animals
Magical animal masks of Japan
Even Japanese people joke that Noh dramas equal no drama, but the masks worn by actors performing the world’s slowest-moving and most obscure style of theater are miracles of the carvers’ art. And not because they’re such lifelike representations of the elephants… Ahaha pretty sure this artist never saw a real one cranes… Hmm, IContinueContinue reading “Magical animal masks of Japan”
New Japanese art displayed in old Japanese houses? Yes, please!
“Lifelong Chandelier Remaster” by Kosei Komatsu The Biwako Biennale isn’t just an exhibition of the best Japanese art of 2025, it’s a masterpiece of displaying new art in historic settings, with dramatic lighting to die for. Whoever paired the winning pieces with each gorgeously restored merchant house was a genius, and this little detour onContinueContinue reading “New Japanese art displayed in old Japanese houses? Yes, please!”
Even mundane housewares are cute in Japan
Seen at Don Quihote store in Shibuya Dread those household chores no more! These cleaning supplies are almost too cute to use. Protecc your paws with these pet-friendly potholders… Seen at Don Quihote store in Shibuya Scrub those pots with these adorable sponges… Seen at Don Quihote store in Shibuya and polish those bookshelves withContinueContinue reading “Even mundane housewares are cute in Japan”
In Japan, you’re never too young to…
Seen at Yodobashi Camera in Akihabara think of chickens as walking yakitori. If you’ve never had the pleasure of overhearing what Japanese people talk about at the aquarium, it may come as a surprise that when they see a chicken, the first thing they think isn’t “Ooo, colorful feathers!” but “Yum, skewered and grilled withContinueContinue reading “In Japan, you’re never too young to…”
Mommy, when I grow up, can I be a cat lady?
In Japan, it’s never to early to practice going to the animal shelter and agonizing over which adorable pet to save. To add that extra dose of realism, there are four adorable animals but only two carriers. And when you give in to all their doomed little faces begging not to be left behind, that’sContinueContinue reading “Mommy, when I grow up, can I be a cat lady?”
Fabulous folk art cats
If yesterday’s “Fairy Tale” exhibit post wasn’t enough to get you to the current exhibition at the Hotel Gajoen before it closes, I’m here to push you off the edge of the table with THESE. The cat theme runs strong throughout the show, but the ones that really put a smile on my face wereContinueContinue reading “Fabulous folk art cats”
Cats in Ukiyo-e: The best woodblock print show ever
If we were playing my favorite museum game—the one where we admit we’d pass on that famous piece of art if we saw it at a garage sale for $5 and didn’t know who made it—I’d be feeling pretty good about myself at this show. You’d be hearing me say, “TAKE MY MONEY!” for everyContinueContinue reading “Cats in Ukiyo-e: The best woodblock print show ever”
Live eel sushi rolls
Just in time for Setsubun—the Japanese holiday on which demons are exorcized with dry beans and smelly sardines—the Sendai Umino-Mori Aquarium built this hilarious (and twisted!) ehōmaki sushi roll hideout for its garden eels. You’ll get the joke immediately if you know that ehōmaki rolls are only sold on Setsubun (which happens to fall onContinueContinue reading “Live eel sushi rolls”
Entertainingly altered missionary signs elevate cats to their rightful place
Twitter user Derek Wessman is a genius to have spotted (and appropriately translated) these brilliantly vandalized Japanese missionary signs that change the word “god” into the word “cat” by removing a few small strokes. “The kingdom of Cat is close at hand” The character for “god”（神）appeared on the original signs, but the world’s most meticulousContinueContinue reading “Entertainingly altered missionary signs elevate cats to their rightful place”
Japanese Capsule Toys Explain the Five Stages of Quarantine Hair Grief
DENIAL “Wow, thanks, yours is growing out great too” ANGER “BURN IT WITH FIRE” BARGAINING “If I could just find the right accessories” DEPRESSION “Who cares? We’re probably never leaving our house again anyway” ACCEPTANCE “You know, even after this is all over, I might just keep wearing this turban” •
Gachapon animals ask their mirrors the most burning quarantine questions
Does this mask make my butt look big? Thicc Boi? Who’s a Thicc Boi? Dessert? Did someone mention dessert? How can I compel my overserfs to order things that come in bigger boxes? •
Artist Turns The Best Pet Tweets Into Hilarious Tiny Sculptures
If I had to nominate one artist for Most Sanity-Saving In The Time of Coronavirus, it would absolutely be @meetissai, whose miniature sculptures inspired by pet tweets never fail to make me laugh out loud. Step away from your keyboard if you’re drinking tea, because I now present, for your spench-worthy enjoyment, these. This wasContinueContinue reading “Artist Turns The Best Pet Tweets Into Hilarious Tiny Sculptures”
Cutest Curry Rice Molds On The Planet
I thought I’d seen it all when it comes to Japanese curry rice molds, but these two cuties redefine ADORABLE. The only problem is that it comes in both cat and panda, and it’s too hard to decide (would it be greedy to get both? SHUT UP) Found these at the Don Kihote in ShibuyaContinueContinue reading “Cutest Curry Rice Molds On The Planet”
I Saw Another New Wild Animal In Tokyo!
There I was, drinking in the serene green at the Kiyosumi Garden… (Where, I might add, the herons on the far island were prancing around doing the “my genes are better than yours” dance) …when I nearly stepped on this. It’s a Northern Chinese Softshell turtle, and if Wikipedia is right, this one is settingContinueContinue reading “I Saw Another New Wild Animal In Tokyo!”
3-D Goldfish Art: Wait, Those Are PAINTINGS?
Doth my eyes deceive me? Riusuke Fukahori paints 3-D goldfish so real you can’t believe they’re not wriggling. And I know you’ll find this hard to believe, but the exhibit of his work going on RIGHT NOW at the Sano Art Museum in Mishima is so astounding, that in real life, the fish look more realContinueContinue reading “3-D Goldfish Art: Wait, Those Are PAINTINGS?”
The Cat Shaming Vending Machine
How did you guess that the moment I caught a glimpse of this vending machine filled with cat shaming gachagacha, all my laundry coins would be history? “I played with the tissue” “I ate your snack” “I broke the dishes” “I clawed the wall” There was only one problem… I got the first four beforeContinueContinue reading “The Cat Shaming Vending Machine”
Japanese Gift Boxes of Overwhelming Cuteness
Gifting in Japan requires that the wrapping be nearly as precious as what’s inside, but I can never remember how to tie a traditional silk furoshiki without the book that reminds me how to fold and tuck the corners so it doesn’t turn out looking like I’m offering someone a wad of laundry. But evenContinueContinue reading “Japanese Gift Boxes of Overwhelming Cuteness”
Move Over, Monkeys! See-no Evil, Hear-no-Evil, Speak-no-Evil Cats Are Here
Sticking to the straight and narrow has never been cuter, thanks to these adorable kittycat gacha-gacha toys, and the vending machine that dispenses them on the Yanaka Ginza shopping street. And each comes with an object of mid-century tech to remind us that seeing, hearing, and speaking evil has never been harder to avoid SeeContinueContinue reading “Move Over, Monkeys! See-no Evil, Hear-no-Evil, Speak-no-Evil Cats Are Here”
Dogs In Kimonos: Shiba Edition!
The only thing in all of Japan that might be cuter than huskies in kimonos is a parade of shiba inus in kimono. Shibas are well-known for making like the Petrified Forest and refusing to budge until even the tiniest hint of humiliating costumery is removed, but the noble beasts I caught making their first shrineContinueContinue reading “Dogs In Kimonos: Shiba Edition!”
Top Ten Crazy Holiday Gifts From Japan 2018
These days, everyone wants “experiences,” not “stuff,” so how about digging into your Santa sack for presents that deliver #youllneverguesswhatwedids that could only come from (where else?)…Japan! This year, give the gift of… 1 …making your own Panda Face sushi and finding out who’s the fastest panda-grabber in the land Seen at the Akihabara Yodobashi CameraContinueContinue reading “Top Ten Crazy Holiday Gifts From Japan 2018”
Department Of Seasonal Pet Humiliation: This Year’s Santa Cat Costume
Sporting all the premium quality you’d expect from a ¥400 vending machine, this Santa Claws capelet just might be the perfect gift for someone who dreams of #catsofinstagram glory (and is willing to risk the kind of revenge that will certainly be extracted after uploading Growler’s humiliation for all the world to see). Not recommendedContinueContinue reading “Department Of Seasonal Pet Humiliation: This Year’s Santa Cat Costume”
Cat Feet Chair Socks!
I know that you’ll be super envious to hear that my kitchen chairs are now prancing around on little cat feet! Gone are the days when the awful screeching sound of chair on floor could drive guests away faster than a pot of soup generously endowed with all four kinds of cow stomach. And they comeContinueContinue reading “Cat Feet Chair Socks!”
The Shiba Inu Vending Machine
Finally! A series of shiba inu gachagacha toys made by an artist who understands that these devilish dogs are not just unbearably adorable, they come packed with a level of eccentric that makes eel-flavored ice cream look like vanilla. What other dog would become more beloved for sticking its head where it doesn’t belong andContinueContinue reading “The Shiba Inu Vending Machine”
The Fox Wedding Vending Machine
Don’t say I never take one for the team – I just spent a year’s worth of laundry coins getting every single member of this fox wedding so you don’t have to! Move over Angry Ghost Cats and Drunken Pets! The Fox Wedding vending machine takes tiny collectible toy obsession to a whole new level.ContinueContinue reading “The Fox Wedding Vending Machine”
Mobbed By Lemurs At The Exotic Animal Petting Zoo!
Who can say they never clutched the fence at their local zoo’s lemur exhibit and didn’t long to sneak over the top just for a few minutes (or, okay, in my case, A FEW HOURS) to cavort with those frisky, big-eyed, long-tailed cuties? Admit it – you’ve always secretly wanted to, haven’t you? Well, nowContinueContinue reading “Mobbed By Lemurs At The Exotic Animal Petting Zoo!”
The Lost Cat Shrine
Don’t you just hate it when your kittehs get a touch of the walkabout? Well now you can do something about it. A quick prayer at the Tachikawa Suitengu Shrine will have them back on your doorstep quicker than a twist of the can opener! Judging by the number of prayer plaques hung on theContinueContinue reading “The Lost Cat Shrine”
The Hypnotic Tail-Wagging Cat Clock
Walking down the street in Ome, I discovered something that totally flipped my three-hour trip to see a garden filled with no blooming azaleas into the win column: the tail-wagging cat clock! BEHOLD ITS MESMERIZING POWER: Can’t. Stop. Watching. (Except to scurry around online like a crazed, tail-wagging weasel to figure out who makes these and where to buyContinueContinue reading “The Hypnotic Tail-Wagging Cat Clock”
Why I’d Totally Follow This Guy’s Instagram If He Hadn’t Died In 1889
Kawanabe Kyosai. He’d have had the best instagram ever. Because Goth WAY before Goth Because FART BATTLES (Excuse me, can we just zoom in on that action for a moment?) Because elephant shenanigans Because before magical folkloric foxes can turn themselves into alluring women bent on tempting silly humans to their doom, they have toContinueContinue reading “Why I’d Totally Follow This Guy’s Instagram If He Hadn’t Died In 1889”
The Drunken Pet Vending Machine
So, today I came home and found THIS. I don’t know what kind of shenanigans YOUR gacha-gacha toys get up to when they’re alone in the house, but… These adorable animals are available at the Drunken Pet vending machine for just ¥200 each! This series may be sold out by the time you’re next in Tokyo, but thereContinueContinue reading “The Drunken Pet Vending Machine”
The Werewolf Shrine
High on top of a snowy mountain in Chichibu – so far from any train station that you’ll be eligible for a senior citizen discount by the time you get off the bus – is the Mitsumine Jinja. At first it looks like a typical Shinto shrine with fox messengers at the gate… …but a closerContinueContinue reading “The Werewolf Shrine”
Fox Village Videos!
Here’s what it’s like to visit Fox Village in the snow, when the foxes are at their fattest & fluffiest! I have to confess, when it comes to which animals would get to sit in business class in my ark, it’s all about the tails. Foxes, of course, have the most magnificent fruffy tails in all of the animalContinueContinue reading “Fox Village Videos!”
At The Crazy Cat Parade
I have to admit, I was powerless to resist going to a thing where hundreds of people dressed more or less as cats pranced down the street, some of them raucously performing musical numbers in which “nyan nyan nyan” replaced all the lyrics. The Bake Neko Parade gives everyone and their granny an excuse to dress up every October near KagurazakaContinueContinue reading “At The Crazy Cat Parade”
A Prickly Day At The Hedgehog Cafe
Turn down the volume on your squee-meter, unless you want to lose a little more of your hearing! Check out the little prickle monsters you can snuggle up with at Tokyo’s new Hedgehog Cafe… Okay, snuggle might not be quite the right word. As you can see, they’re not exactly covered in fluff The reason it’s called theContinueContinue reading “A Prickly Day At The Hedgehog Cafe”
Which One Is The REAL Goldfish?
Not easy, is it? Okay, I’ll give you a hint: this one doesn’t need to be fed. The lovely specimen in the wooden saké box is a painting of a goldfish. Actually, it’s about a gazillion paintings of a goldfish. Artist Riusuke Fukahori builds these 3-D wonders by pouring a thin layer of clear resin, painting a slice of goldfish,ContinueContinue reading “Which One Is The REAL Goldfish?”
The Catzilla Vending Machine
Overcome with a burning need for yet more weird plastic toys (hey, don’t pretend this doesn’t happen to you!) I was poking around in my favorite Akihabara gachagacha emporium when I discovered THIS: Yes! It’s what Japan’s favorite irradiated lizard would look like if it were a cat! With two tails! (Rather a lucky mutation, since threeContinueContinue reading “The Catzilla Vending Machine”
The Gods Of Cuteness Anoint The Most Inexplicable Animal Yet
At the time I bought these, I thought I’d better snap them up, because I’d never see another piece of tapir-themed goods as long as I lived. Haha, I thought. Seriously? Tapirs? If there was a vote on which animal is least likely to be described as “fluffy, “winsome” and “cuddly,” I think tapirs would pretty much win the internet.ContinueContinue reading “The Gods Of Cuteness Anoint The Most Inexplicable Animal Yet”
Temple Cats, With Attitude
In Japan, neko and temples go together like fish guts and beer, and every graveyard attracts a cadre of cats to guard the departed. At first I tried not to think about what they might be eating to make them so fat and happy (DO NOT GO THERE) until I was lurking around taking pictures late one afternoon, and witnessed the duelling cat ladies. SufficeContinueContinue reading “Temple Cats, With Attitude”
Fox Village: Even Better With Snow On Top!
I thought I’d died and gone to heaven when I finally made it to Zao Fox Village last spring, but it’s a good thing I didn’t actually shuffle off this mortal coil due to fox-induced bliss, because then I would have missed seeing all these fluffy vixen in the SNOW! In the winter, they’re at their fattest and furriest! With tails set toContinueContinue reading “Fox Village: Even Better With Snow On Top!”
The Angry Fox Ghost Vending Machine
I thought I’d reached the highest level of gacha-gacha nirvana when I discovered the Angry Cat Ghost vending machine last year, but yesterday walking through what I’d previously thought of as the ninth-circle-of-hell Shinagawa station, I spied these: YOKAI FOXES! As you can see, they come in six, count ’em SIX, fabulous colors, three with lucky messenger-of-the-gods markings. And yeah, as youContinueContinue reading “The Angry Fox Ghost Vending Machine”
Midnight Fox Parade
Middle school boys in foxface and golden skirt-pants carrying gigantic fox heads through the streets of Tokyo? Can you think of a better way to ring in the new year? Every December 31st at midnight, the good citizens of Oji gather at the local inari shrine to show the furry-tailed messengers of the gods a good time.ContinueContinue reading “Midnight Fox Parade”
The Deli For Dogs
How can Fifi decide between the tofu rolls and the pumpkin balls? I was cutting through my favorite crazy pet store in Odaiba, when I spotted what I thought was a deli counter where pet owners who had become famished while stocking up on camouflage dog strollers and duck muzzles could grab a bite, but when I looked closer, all the artfully styled foodContinueContinue reading “The Deli For Dogs”
I Saw A New Wild Animal In Tokyo!
Walking home late one night, a flicker of unexpected movement caught my eye. When I looked up, there was something scampering along the phone lines above my head! A cat? A rat? No it was BIG. Sorry these photos are so crap – the only camera I had with me was my phone! At first, I thought it might be aContinueContinue reading “I Saw A New Wild Animal In Tokyo!”
Help, There’s A Hamster In My Drink!
Lately in Japan there’s been an explosion of vending machines selling little characters that perch on the side of your glass, so you never have to drink alone. But none of them has been nearly as cute as HAMSTERS. Well, okay, at first glance, spotting seven of them scrambling to get at your drink before youContinueContinue reading “Help, There’s A Hamster In My Drink!”
Princess Kimono, Animal Style
The bunnies will be all over you at the rabbit café when you swan in wearing this bun-centric obi. Obscure seasonal references to geese and crows? So tenth century! Leaf viewing and strolling beneath the cherry blossoms? Been there, called it a cab. Let’s strap on our princess kimonos and hit the animal cafés instead! Coming or going, let’s show thoseContinueContinue reading “Princess Kimono, Animal Style”
The Angry Cat Ghost Vending Machine
Walking through Shinjuku station today, I discovered I had a burning need for angry cat ghosts. Fortunately, there was a bank of gacha-gacha vending machines smack in the middle of the concourse, ready to cater to all my feline spiritual needs. OK, so maybe I went a little overboard trying to collect them all DON’TContinueContinue reading “The Angry Cat Ghost Vending Machine”
Let’s Go To Bunny Island!
What part of ALL THE SNACKS don’t you understand? If your squee-meter isn’t totally burnt out after Fox Village, it certainly will be, after we check out BUNNY ISLAND! Okunoshima isn’t easy to get to, but that’s why there’s an entire chunk of land off the coast of Japan where adorable bunnies run free, without fear of being eaten (or, obviously, havingContinueContinue reading “Let’s Go To Bunny Island!”
How To Make The Most Beautiful Lollipops In The World
One of the most beautiful lollipops in the world. OK, I admit, I did not make this lollipop. I went to the workshop taught by the artist who made it, but the thing I ended up making did not remotely, remotely, REMOTELY resemble this lollipop. First of all – to be fair – we weren’t supposed to be making goldfishContinueContinue reading “How To Make The Most Beautiful Lollipops In The World”
How To Go To Zao Fox Village
Jaded denizen of the interwebz that I am, there’s not much that makes me leap out of my chair and scream “WANT!” but when I first saw a picture taken at Zao Fox Village, I had to drop everything and figure out a way to get there. Hello, human! It’s far from Tokyo – five hours byContinueContinue reading “How To Go To Zao Fox Village”
The Fox Shrine To End All Fox Shrines
I knew I was going to love the Sasuke Inari Shrine from the moment I saw the long tunnel of red lacquer torii gates leading into the deep, dark woods. But nothing prepared me for the mossy, foxy, wonders that lay beyond! Once you walk through the gates, no matter what time of day itContinueContinue reading “The Fox Shrine To End All Fox Shrines”
Only In Japan 