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daruma
Gundam teams up with 300-year-old daruma maker for wood-carved anime mecha figures[Photos]
- Casey Baseel
May 24, 2026 - Tweet
It’s a Gun-daruma!
- Japan
- (anime • art • cool • culture • daruma • Freedom Gundam • Fukushima • Fukushima prefecture • Gundam • Gundam SEED • Justice Gundam • mecha • robots • shirakawa)
Serpentine Winnie the Pooh Year of the Snake plushies, Mickey and Baymax daruma arrive in Japan
- Casey Baseel
Dec 4, 2024
There may not be a Year of the Bear, but Eto Pooh is an annual tradition for Disney fans in Japan.
- Japan
- (Baymax • Big Hero 6 • Chinese zodiac • cool • cute • daruma • Disney • eto • Eto Pooh • interior • New Year's • Oshogatsu • plushies • Winnie the Pooh • year of the snake)
Daruma Man: The Japanese gacha capsule toy series we never knew we needed
- Oona McGee
Dec 19, 2023
Here to help you with the heavy work of making all your wishes come true.
- Japan
- (capsule machines • capsule toy • capsule toy machines • capsule toys • cool • cute • daruma • gacha • gacha machines • gachapon • Kitan Club • new year • SNJO)
Year of the Dragon Pooh! Disney Japan’s plushies gets early Chinese zodiac changeover【Pics】
- Casey Baseel
Dec 7, 2023
Eto Pooh drops early.
- Japan
- (COK • cool • cute • daruma • Disney • Disney Store • eto • Lunar New Year • plushies • tsum tsum • Winnie the Pooh • Year of the Dragon)
Studio Ghibli releases a Totoro daruma and beckoning Catbus in Japan for New Year
- Oona McGee
Dec 26, 2022
The sold-out collection every Ghibli fan wants to get their hands on.
- Japan
- (anime • Catbus • cute • daruma • Ebisu • Ghibli • Ghibli Museum • Hayao Miyazaki • interior • Japanese New Year • merchandise • My Neighbor Totoro • new year • Oshogatsu • Studio Ghibli • Totoro)
Visit the birthplace of the Japanese daruma in Gunma Prefecture
- Oona McGee
Aug 14, 2022
Home to some unusual rotund inhabitants.
- Japan
- (Buddhism • COK • culture • daruma • Darumaji • gunma prefecture • religion • Shorinzan Darumaji Temple • SNJO • Takasaki • temples • tradition • travel)
Japan’s daruma dolls seem to be causing problems for horses at the Tokyo Olympics
- Casey Baseel
Aug 4, 2021
Creative touches appeared to cause culture shock for four-legged competitors in equestrian event.
- Japan
- (2020 Olympics • 2021 Olympics • COK • culture • daruma • horses • Olympics • sports • Tokyo Olympics • weird)
Starbucks Japan lucky bag showdown! We snag three fukubukuro, but are they all the same?【Pics】
- Casey Baseel
Jan 5, 2021
You can always count on cool drinkware, cute plushies, and free coffee from Starbucks Japan at New Year’s.
- Japan
- (coffee • COK • daruma • drinkware • fukubukuro • fukubukuro 2020 • Fukubukuro Roundup • Fukubukuro Roundup 2021 • Lucky Bag Roundup • Lucky Bag Roundup 2021 • Lucky Bags • SNJO • Starbucks • Starbucks Japan)
Starbucks Japan unveils New Year’s drinkware range for 2021
- Oona McGee
Dec 29, 2020
Mt Fuji, daruma dolls, and zodiac year motifs are just some of the images featured in this limited-edition Japanese collection.
- Japan
- (2021 • COK • daruma • drinkware • Japanese New Year • limited edition • mugs • New Year 2021 • Starbucks • travel mugs • tumblers • Year of the Ox)
Disney’s Japanese New Year’s plushies and figures are ready to make oshogatsu cuter than ever
- Casey Baseel
Dec 7, 2019
Mickey, Minnie, Pooh, and even Baymax turn into traditional symbols of good luck and the Chinese Zodiac to help ring in 2020.
- Japan
- (Chinese zodiac • culture • cute • daruma • Disney • Disney Store • kagami mochi • Mickey Mouse • New Year's • New Year's 2020 • oys • plushies • Year of the Mouse)
Designer makes daruma good enough to eat with sushi, parfait and fried pork
- Jessica
Nov 2, 2015
Japan is a country that really values tradition, but that doesn’t mean that traditional culture is completely sacrosanct either. Giving something old and iconic a tongue-in-cheek modern twist is a popular approach in art and commerce, with results at once familiar and jarring enough to be eye catching.
Like these daruma, spotted at Tokyo Design Week, with outrageous paint jobs and wearing some rather tasty-looking headgear.
“Pop” daruma dolls so popular you’ll have to wait three years to get one
- Jessica
May 13, 2015
Daruma are a kind of roly-poly wishing doll in Japanese Buddhism. You draw one eye in while making a wish, and then fill in the other when your wish comes true. Given their sweet purpose and blob-like shape, traditional daruma are already pretty charming, but a woodcarving shop in Kagawa Prefecture has found a pop makeover makes them even more attractive, so much so that there is a 3-year waiting list to get one!
Here’s what your life’s been missing: a 3-D Daruma doll shaped like your face
- Evie Nyan
Jan 23, 2015
Little, fat, round, lucky – Daruma dolls are an instantly recognisable Japanese trinket that also serve as a source of inspiration, encouraging people to achieve their goals. Daruma dolls usually come with two blank white eyes. You paint on one eye as you set yourself an objective (pass an exam, get a promotion, etc) and then paint on the second eye once you achieve your goal. As such, Daruma are a popular gift given to students cramming for exam season. But wouldn’t it be amazing if you could buy a Daruma doll crafted in the likeness of your own ugly face? Well, now you can, and what’s more – they’re three dimensional!
Unusual flat-pack daruma voted Japan’s most fascinating souvenir
- Oona McGee
Jan 30, 2014
If you’re looking for a unique Japanese gift that’s light in your luggage but heavy in tradition, then this is the item for you. It’s called the KD Daruma (Knock-Down Daruma) and it’s modelled on the centuries-old, round, good-luck talisman which symbolises Bodhidharma, the founder of the Zen sect of Buddhism. This modern take on the daruma features a flat-pack design and clever assembly so unusual it’s just been awarded first prize as Japan’s most fascinating souvenir in a competition held by the Japan Tourism Agency. We take a closer look at the details to see what makes this little novelty so charming.
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Recent Posts
- Historical-themed illumination display returns to Osaka Castle this winter
- Starbucks Japan reveals new Joyful Capsule gacha toy release date
- Japanese drivers reminded to look out for drunk people passed out on the road this holiday season
- 41.5 percent of surveyed Japanese middle schoolers don’t think more immigration benefits society
- Tokyo neighborhood adds new “smart trash cans” to deal with increasing amounts of tourist litter
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MOST POPULAR
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Today
America’s first-ever permanent One Piece store is now open [Photos]
Tokyo neighborhood adds new “smart trash cans” to deal with increasing amounts of tourist litter
Starbucks Japan reveals new Joyful Capsule gacha toy release date
Tokyo cracks down on Airbnb-style rentals with new laws limiting operator days and more
Japanese viewers of Godzilla Minus Zero angered by unusual number of restroom goers
Pokémon card game’s expansion features art from Fist of the North Star creator
Why people in Japan hardly ever say “sayonara,” and what they say instead
Historical-themed illumination display returns to Osaka Castle this winter
New Era celebrates three decades of Pokémon with new 30th anniversary cap line [Photos]
41.5 percent of surveyed Japanese middle schoolers don’t think more immigration benefits society
Weekly
Starbucks Japan unveils new winter drinkware collection with limited-edition Stanley cups
Pachinko parlor operator arrested for not obscuring the act of gambling well enough
Tokyo cracks down on Airbnb-style rentals with new laws limiting operator days and more
Two Tokyo neighborhoods to gather on bridge and shift their recognized border through tug-of-war
Japan ends tax-free shopping system for foreign tourists, new refund request system now in effect
Liquid croissant coffee is coming to Japanese stores this month
New Era celebrates three decades of Pokémon with new 30th anniversary cap line [Photos]
Pokémon doughnuts pop up at Mister Donut, with a new gathering that’s bigger than ever
America’s first-ever permanent One Piece store is now open [Photos]
Japan’s new matcha vending machines serve freshly prepared matcha in five different strengths
Monthly
Pokémon Company announces first-ever permanent Pokémon store to open outside Asia
Japan ends tax-free shopping system for foreign tourists, new refund request system now in effect
Japan’s TeamLab digital art group is opening a permanent museum in America
Family Mart releases 47 convenience store socks and stickers, one for every prefecture in Japan
What’s it like to stay in a Japanese container hotel?
Beautiful Ghibli diorama kits lets you build anime characters’ homes inside yours [Photos]
Chainsaw robots helping keep trains running safely in east Japan [Video]
New Studio Ghibli anime gets extended run at the only cinema in Japan where it’s being shown
Osaka’s famous Glico Running Man will be removed and replaced with a new-look sign
Studio Ghibli creates illustrated Kyoto sightseeing map, available at any 7-Eleven Japan store
Yearly
Japan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Studio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see it
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Tokyo subway installing new ticket gates that don’t accept payment through Suica or other IC cards
Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroad
Salomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa
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RECOMMENDED STORIES
Pokémon card game’s expansion features art from Fist of the North Star creator
Why people in Japan hardly ever say “sayonara,” and what they say instead
Historical-themed illumination display returns to Osaka Castle this winter
New Era celebrates three decades of Pokémon with new 30th anniversary cap line [Photos]
41.5 percent of surveyed Japanese middle schoolers don’t think more immigration benefits society
Japanese drivers reminded to look out for drunk people passed out on the road this holiday season
Amazing Japanese yogurt spoon scoops up every last drop of dairy effortlessly
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Japanese hoodie for cat-loving gamers will keep you and your feline friend warm and fuzzy [Pics]
Family Mart releases 47 convenience store socks and stickers, one for every prefecture in Japan
Kenshi Yonezu’s Lemon hits 1 billion views on YouTube and he’s still not quite sure why
Starbucks Japan unveils new winter drinkware collection with limited-edition Stanley cups
Pachinko parlor operator arrested for not obscuring the act of gambling well enough
Japanese convenience store offering chance to have your shopping be effectively free for one day
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![Gundam teams up with 300-year-old daruma maker for wood-carved anime mecha figures[Photos] Gundam teams up with 300-year-old daruma maker for wood-carved anime mecha figures[Photos]](https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/05/gd-1.jpg?w=640)

