Japan Haul: Puri Cubes!

The last time we went to Japan, Paul and I saw a Puri Cube Machine at the Hakuhinkan Toy Park in Ginza.  Not even sure how I found it, but I remember finding  a link to it on the internet, so we decided to check it out.  I recall getting to the Toy Park just before they were going to close, so we didn't have much time to check out everything.  Paul really liked the idea of making Puri Cubes for our friends back home, but the problem was that they weren't with us to take their photo!  So my husband.. being the maverick of figuring out ways to make things work, figures out that he can use photos from his phone, hold it up to the camera on the machine, and have the camera take a picture of the picture on his phone!  

By this time, the store had closed, so we vowed to return again before the end of our trip to get the job done.  But then the earthquake struck.... the day after the earthquake, we tried to go to the Toy Park again to see if we could accomplish our goal, but they were closed after the earthquake to fix up the store.  Poor Paul.. he was really bummed.

So now that we had a 2nd shot to make this happen, he was determined not to fail this time.  Akemi and I roamed around the store while he got busy and made 5 by camera photos alone.  We also saw that the machine would take memory cards from cameras too.  That would have been so much easier!  Oh well...  Then Paul, Akemi and I all got our's done too.  I gotta admit, it was pretty funny to see our faces printed on these little discs... It pops out of the machine in the black cartridge below....

Then you choose your Puri Cube character (write down the number of the item) and give it to the cashier.  They then pull out each character charm and you pay there.  Total cost was about 200 yen for the Puri Cube photo and between 300-400 yen for each figure.  Total was about 500-600 yen each (~$5-6).

Paul and Akemi couldn't wait to go back to the hotel to assemble each one.  Can you see which one  is me?

They had a great selection of figures, but I ended up choosing the Maneki Neko.  Akemi choose a Daba (bunny) and Paul wanted to be Godzilla.   What a cool & fun omiyage gift!  Hope the boys like it (that includes you Stef).

Japan Haul: Nakamise and Daiso

 Yes, there are still more Japan haul posts!  I'll try to combine them so you don't get too bored...

Whenever I ask my mom if she wants anything while I'm on a trip, she doesn't normally make any requests.  This time, she did ask me for some Kanzashi for her hair, so I was on a mission to find something.  She said she preferred red, but unfortunately, I couldn't find red anywhere.  Her hair is shorter now, so I think pins work better for her than a rubber band.  This is the set I picked up for her in Nakamise. I liked all of the flowers in the set.  Hope she likes it.

I also got a Teru Teru Bozu doll for my friend Les.  She likes Kawaii stuff too, especially smiley face stuff.  I thought this would be good for her to hang in her car since she's a photographer and rain is always a problem.   Not sure why he's yellow though.. I think they are supposed to be white?  Couldn't find a white one.. Sorry Les!  Make sure you bring it to Hilo the next time you visit!

Next on my list of stuff to get was a Doraemon figure.  Finally figured out he's a robot cat.  Guess that explains why he has no ears?  I saw him all over Japan last time and this time I wanted to get one to bring home.  He looks like the statue in front of the Ban Dai building.

When you press the button on his belly, his eyes spin.  See?  Now it's hearts!  Weird I know, but he is Japanese after all.

The next haul is from Daiso or 100 yen store.  Wanted to get some Japanese stuff for my office and thought those gel clings would be cute for Girl's Day that's coming up.  I also liked the bags in the lower left corner and couldn't resist the bear shaped measuring tape!

These next critters were found in Nakamise- on one of the side streets. I remember finding them last time and picking up some cute stuff, so I checked in while Paul and Akemi were eating some Arare.

I liked this Tsuru pin for some reason. I don't normally wear pins, but I like Tsuru's, so I got it anyway. I never see cute tsuru characters anywhere, so I snapped this one up quickly.

And I think I told you that I really like tiny clothespins now right?  These bunnies caught my eye too.

And who can resist this cute neko?  I don't even like cats but he was so cute, I got him for my office.

Now I didn't get much Hello Kitty stuff since she's all over Hawaii, but I did scoop this cell phone charm up because she's pulling a rickshaw!

You can see the rickshaw better in this photo...

And finally, I got this cute clip set.  I was going to give it away, but I think I'll keep it for myself.  

Hope you are enjoying the posts so far!

Japan Haul: Daiso & Misc. Goodies

One of my favorite stores in Japan is the Daiso or 100 yen shops for obvious reasons. You can get some really cool stuff for a good price. 

My sister-in-law sometimes makes bento for her kids and tries to make them cute like how the Japanese do.  I thought she would get a kick out of these animal toothpicks and shoyu bottles.

Here's a close up of the toothpicks...

And a side view of the shoyu bottles..

Also picked up a hiragana chart for my nephew.  He can't even read yet, but thought we'd start him off right.  Also got him a shinkansen (train) and found this Cars candy at Kiddy Land earlier.  The candy is a chocolate egg with a cars toy inside.  He's Cars crazy, so I'm sure he will like it.

Another good find but not at the Daiso store, was these Frixion pens by Pilot.  They come in different colors and are eraseable with the eraser on top. Not sure if other erasers will work on the ink, but the ink is said to last 10-15 yrs?  Not sure if that has been tested or not... Anyway, another hot commodity from Japan.  Found these at Itoya in Ginza, but also picked up a Disney version at Tokyo Disneyland.

And since we got to visit the Tokyo Tower this time, I wanted to get something for my stash.  Settled on this mini replica of the tower.

Just a few more posts!  Hang in there!

Japan Haul: Shimojima!

I know.. more haulin posts!  Crazy yah?  Well, if you usually visit my blog for craft stuff, this haul post might actually interest you...  I usually try to get to a craft store where ever I travel to.  Last time I went to Tokyu Hands and got some Washi from a store in Nakamise.  This time, I did more research and got some leads from some friends (thanks to Cami, K.I. and Norm) to check out some new places.  One of the recommended sites was Shimojima.  I never heard of it before, but found out they carry many of the same Heiko products.  I'm not sure if they are the parent company for Heiko?  Anyway, just imagine 8 floors of Heiko and you'll get the idea.

Luckily, we stay in the Asakusa area when we go to Japan, so I told Paul there was one in the Asakusa-bashi area, which was a few blocks down.  We decided to walk instead of catching the subway this time, which was nice.  We got to see some smaller shops that we never saw before since we normally head in the other direction from our hotel.

This is just a sample of what I picked up... The prices were so cheap compared to back home.. guess we are mostly paying for shipping right?  Anyway, take a look at some of the goodies....

I could't pass up these baskets.  I got one more that I didn't get a picture of, but its a chicken that was really cute.  These baskets were crochet to look like animals!  Don't know what I'll use them for but I had to pick them up.  They were less than 400 yen each.

Also found some Mamegoma stuff.  He's hard to find.  I think he's really cute and wanted something with him on it. Settled for a ruler and eraser since I can always use those.

I also found these cute doggie stationary stuff.  My niece loves dogs and these dogs were so cute!  (I'm telling you.. even Japanese dogs are cuter than ours!)  Anyway, got her a pencil case, pencils, eraser, and mini notebook that she can use at school.

And decided to grab some omiyage for Akemi's friends at Japanese school.  She's pretty close with them and they play "school" after class.  One girl is the teacher and the rest are the students, so I thought they would like these Rilakkuma notebooks, pencils and erasers.  I used to collect Japanese erasers when I was growing up. Remember the smelly ones?  Mmmmmm...  By the way, these were a bargain at  100 yen for the pencil sets, less than 100 yen for the erasers and 125 yen for each notebook.

And finally, got some craft supplies.  The set of Japanese paper dolls were actually picked up at Oriental Bazaar for a friend.  She makes a lot of cards, so I thought she could use them in her projects.  I also found the pre-made mizuhiki embellishments for a good price!  Yay!  They came out to a little over 100 yen a piece, but considering how much we pay for embellishments in the US, this was a good deal.

On top of all that, I also got me a few sheets of washi paper.  The full sheets were smaller than ones I picked up at other stores, but for the price it was worth it!  Each sheet was less than 300 yen!  Crazy yah?  I didn't go crazy, but I did pick up a handful of papers.  I'll take pix of the wash I picked up and post them later.  I took this photo of the washi paper shelves I found in Shimojima and later saw the no photos sign!  Doh!  Good thing I didn't get caught!   Used the panoramic feature on my iphone to take this shot, so you might have to click on the picture to get the full effect.

There was a sign that said to take up the washi in the plastic to the counter.  You need to do this so that they can scan the item from the plastic.  Just take up all the papers you want and tell them how many sheets of each.

In addition, I picked up a pack of Japanese printed bags and some other miscellaneous items.  Overall, a good deal on lots of stuff.  Good thing this was one of the last stores I went to, otherwise, I might've filled up the whole suitcase with craft supplies!  Since I had such a successful shopping trip at Shimojima, I decided we didn't need to go to Tokyu Hands this time around since the closest one was in Shibuya and we were running out of time. I'll definitely hit them next time.  Still waiting for Joy to set up a Ben Franklin Japan Craft Shopping Tour... Right Joy?

Japan Haul: Tokyo Disneyland Goodies

Moving on with more Japan omiyage goodness.  Do I still call it omiyage when it's for me?  OK, maybe I should call it a Tokyo Disneyland Haul!

I love Disney merchandise, but I gotta say... Tokyo Disneyland has the CUTEST versions of the characters.  It took a lot to withstand buying loads of Donald, Mickey, and Stitch!  For some reason, they know how to tweak the characters just enough so that they look like the characters, but are 10 times cuter!

I didn't get to do that much shopping this time since Akemi was with us and was really into the rides.  Here's what I managed to pick up while there...

I was stoked to find this Tokyo Disneyland fan in a store in Adventureland. This store specialized in Japanese items.  See the castle and Mickey heads on the fan?  Love that they added the tsuru with it.

Here's proof that it's from Tokyo Disneyland...

Not sure why, but I'm very excited about mini clothes pins now days. I picked up several different types on this trip and Disney was no exception.  I liked how Minnie had different expressions on each clip.

Not sure why this appealed to me, but I had Stitch Fever while in Japan.  He's everywhere and the Japanese sure adore him!  You can stack these Stitches on each other.

See?  Pretty cool yah?

And I think I posted this already, but I really like this candy dispenser set.

And I had to pick up these cell phone charms.  Not sure why I liked them so much.. maybe it's cause they are my two favorite things... Disney and food?

Here's a close up of the coffee mugs.

And finally, found this Pop 'n Step at Kiddie Land.  They had other Disney characters too, but the Stitch was the cutest.  Akemi really liked it, so I got it for her.  When the music plays, Stitch dances along to the beat.  Check out the site here...

Very cool..  how come I've never seen this in the US?

Japan Haul: Sister Stamps Props

I'm always looking for some props to go with my Sister Stamps projects.  I gave some toys to my sister the last time we saw each other, so I didn't have much to use recently. I was on a mission to find some new items on this trip to Japan.

These items were picked up at the Daiso (100 yen shop) and Nakamise.  I find most of the traditional toys there. 

I thought this turtle was cute.. found him at Daiso.

And got this toy from Nakamise.  Sis used it on the Yuki stamp... It was falling out of her stocking!

This is a mini taiko that was found on the Nobu stamp.

Now I didn't know what the heck this guy was, but he looked kinda like a daruma to me.  I got him anyway for inspiration.. I looked it up and here's how you play with him...

And I found a cool boy's day koi flag set!  This is always useful.. Especially with Kastura!

Japan Haul: Nakamise Fans

Since I had gone to Japan a couple years ago, I didn't want to get the same stuff for the same people.  The last time I went, I got the girls at the shop washi paper, but this time I wanted to get something different.  Paul suggested I check out the fans at Nakamise.  I remembered seeing several kiosk's with them, so I did some price checking and found a very reasonable shop located in a more remote location.  I noticed the booths at the front are more expensive than the ones on the side streets.. and they sell the same stuff!

So here's the fans I chose.  They had so many beautiful ones, that I had a hard time picking.  I eventually had to ask the shop owner for help as all the fans were closed up and I couldn't seem to find the ones that looked like the samples on display.  He was very good at finding them for me, thank goodness... otherwise I'd still be there!

I like this one a lot... 

The butterflies are so pretty!

Also liked the sakura design on this one...

Thought this was need to add the orchid to the design...

Aahhh, more butterflies...

This one reminds me of washi paper...

I know I have bunny washi that looks like this!!

Another of my favorites, the Japanese dragonfly..

Darn it, now I wish I bought more!