Japanese Sweets Food Toys: Tea and Bean Cake

Continuing with photographing Japanese food toys before I get rid of them, are two sets of Japanese sweets.

This is the front of the box.

And this is the back of the box.

The first is the tea set. This I had opened long ago, and lost the green tea portion inside the cup and the piece of tissue for a sweet to rest on.

Here’s the top view.

The second sweets set are bean cakes and crackers.

The amount of detail on these toys is pretty amazing.

The box opens up and there’s a bean cake inside.

Regional Food Toys: Hokkaido and Nagoya

The next two sets of food toys I have are based on foods from different areas of Japan.

This is the front of the box.

And the back of the box.

The first set is from Hokkaido and is hokke, a type of mackerel.

Here’s the top view.

The second set is from Nagoya and is a shrimp roll.

And this is the top view.

Family Restaurant Food Toy: Katsu

I bought a lot of crap back in the day. I didn’t think of it as crap at the time. I just wanted…stuff. Things I thought were cute. Or interesting. Of funny. But they were things I never used. Things that just ended up in a box. Things I needed to get rid of.

In Japan, I bought food toys because they amused me. I thought they were silly and fun, and they showed the range of Japanese food available—from family restaurants, to sweets to regional cuisine.

However, I decided to finally get rid of these Japanese food toys that I hadn’t done anything with…some were still in their original packaging. [Sigh.] So, I decided I would take photos of them as a way give them some purpose before donating them to a thrift store.

Here’s a family restaurant toy for katsu—breaded fried pork. Family restaurants isn’t a term I generally use, but in Japan it’s a type of restaurant like a diner, much like Denny’s. Open 24 hours. Reasonably priced dishes that appeal to a wide demographic.

Here’s the front of the box.

And the back of the box. Ten toy sets in all to collect. I think the reception stand and menu in the #1 toy is pretty funny. But seriously, unless there’s a dollhouse restaurant, I’m not sure what anyone would do with any of these things.

A description of the dish and price.

I just think it’s hilarious that they included a bill as well.

Things I Didn’t Buy 41

I found some adorable Japanese children’s books.

This is a cute old teaching clock toy. Front and back.

And a Care Bear from the 1980s.

$24 at an Estate Sale

I spent a bit more than usual at this estate sale. I bought this blue rectangular Japanese ceramic piece that I thought I could use to put herbs in. (I don’t currently have any herbs planted, but I have thought that I ought to start…).

I bought it for $6. I really love the blue glaze on it.

I got these two containers for loose leaf tea for $1 each.

I also bought these two ceramic tea cups for $3 each. I like blue glaze on them and they’re very comfortable to hold.

I got this strainer and bowl for $8. Honestly, I was on the fence on getting this since the price seemed a bit steep to me, but I decided I could actually use it so I bought it.

I got these three decks of (never-been-used) cards from Airlines for 50 cents each.

And finally, I bought this Japanese cracker tin for 50 cents. It’s quite large, about 10 inches wide by 13.5 inches tall. I liked the design on it.

Things I Didn’t Buy 8

Here are some interesting Japanese items that I didn’t buy. My favorites are these robots. Super cool.

Next are some kimonos and yukatas. I wouldn’t wear them, but I could use the fabric. I resisted the temptation.

I also didn’t get these small Japanese fabrics (probably mostly used for cloth wrapping). I liked the red and white pattern quite a bit…

These Japanese rice cracker tins were interesting.

And I liked the art on this record.

Current Cravings: Plum Potato Chips

While at the Asian supermarket I took a quick pass down the junk food aisle. I usually refrain from buying any junk food because it’s really easy for me to eat the entire bag or box or package of whatever goodies I get (in part because they tend not to be overly rich or sweet and in part because the serving sizes are much smaller than American junk food sizes).

However, as I swiftly walked down the junk food aisle, prepared to buy nothing, a pink bag caught my eye: plum potato chips. I stopped. I was intrigued. Plum potato chips were a seasonal item. When I think of Japan and plums I immediately think of pickled plums, and I happen to love pickled plums—so I impulsively bought the potato chips. And that evening I ate the entire bag of chips (although to be fair it only contained two servings worth of chips). They were delicious. They were salty and sour and sweet (although no where near as sour as actual pickled plums), they just had a hint of plum flavoring.

Pickled plums are an acquired taste. The first time I had them I didn’t like them at all. They were very sour, and I wasn’t really accustomed to sour foods. I wasn’t brought up with many sour food options (other than dill pickles and lemon desserts). But for whatever reason, I came to love pickled plums (with rice of course). I like the soft juicy ones that are about the size of a quarter; a little nibble of one of those wakes my taste buds up. [Pause.] And I should probably stick to eating the healthier pickled plums themselves rather than plum potato chips (that I can oh too easily polish off an entire bag of). [Sigh.]

Slightly Off

While at times disorientating and confusing, one of the things that never ceased to amaze me in Japan was the strange English that would be used on: T-shirts, stationary, menus, signs, food packaging, magazines, advertisements and well, on anything really. Whether misspelled, grammatically incorrect, nonsensical or just plain awkward, it was usually a welcome surprise to see English used in such odd and unexpected ways.

Cute Animal Wares

Every so often I’m a sucker for cute animal things. (I mean who doesn’t love an adorable little dog or cat?) While sometimes I would receive cute animal items as gifts, I admit that more often than not, it was me doing the purchasing; I would buy containers, toys and stationary merely because they were cute (and thus irresistible). Yet as the years pass, I’m less inclined to buy these cute animal items (as I do not have the room or need for them), but here are some cute animal wares I've accumulated over time:

Japanese Vending Machines

I bought this candy vending machine toy on a whim while at a department store in Japan. It’s silly and utterly unnecessary, but at the time it amused me. When the card is popped into the vending machine slot, lights go on and sound comes out and then the candy comes out (or at least it did when the toy was new and the battery was fresh). I like the fake little brands for the drinks (some of which are obviously based upon real brands). I just think it’s funny that a vending machine would be made into a toy (I mean really, vending machines aren’t exactly the most exciting thing out there). But it is a Japanese vending machine, which is better than an American one…at least I think so.

Japanese Key Chains

While in Japan, I went through a phase of getting key chains as souvenirs. It was an easy souvenir to get since they're small, sturdy and there was usually a wide variety to choose from. I would get one (or more) at any place I was visiting. I never really thought too deeply about what I would do with them in the future, I just wanted something tangible from the place I was visiting. Basically it was a souvenir for souvenir's sake, as I never actually used any of these key chains. [Sigh.] But some them are interesting to look at:

It’s a Pun—Japanese Style

I love wordplay. It amuses me to see words used in an interesting manner. While my understanding of Japanese in limited, when I “get” a pun it makes me smile. Here are a few cute (animal-related) products using Japanese puns:

Japanese Ceramics

I don’t think I have a knack for making ceramics. I’ve taken art classes where I tried pottery but things just didn’t click; I wasn’t really into the process (and that’s a pretty essential part of doing any sort of craft). I think I have a difficult time with creative activities that involve time requirements. I like to be able to walk away from a project at any time if I’m not feeling it, and then come back to it once I’m more motivated to work—and that’s too difficult to do in pottery (with clay drying out, the messiness factor and the cleanup process).

Japanese Postage Stamps

Shopping at airports is for the desperate. Everything is overpriced and generally tacky. Those shops are for when you forget to buy someone a present and are therefore forced to buy something with the name of the city/country you’re in.

However there are exceptions to the rule, and while at a Japanese airport I found a bag of used postage stamps; there were approximately 1000 stamps in a bag for about $5. I like postage stamps because they’re every day objects that most people don’t think too much about, but some of them are quite lovely to look at.

Japanese Silk Labels

Stock images are commonplace at work; they’re quick and easy to get, mock up and replace if necessary. However, when working on personal projects, I generally prefer to create my own imagery since it reflects my design sensibilities to a better degree.

Cell Phone Straps

When I was in Japan, there were many things there that were big there that never quite made it to the U.S. Cell phone straps were one of those things.

Natto Pad

Natto Pad (tag for hanging)

I am not a natto (fermented soybeans) fan. I knew before trying it that there was a slim chance that I would actually like it, but I tried anyway because every so often food can surprise you; sometimes your preconceived notions are incorrect. This was not one of those times.