Pearl Lady, a tapioca and crepe specialty shop, will begin selling a special crepe inspired by the Sanrio character Cogimyun starting April 8, 2022! These gorgeous treats will be available at participating Pearl Lady locations while supplies last.  

Cogimyun’s Sparkling Strawberry Crepe

    Cogimyun’s Sparkling Strawberry Crepe, topped with a Cogimyun cookie, includes sweet and sour strawberry cream.    The dough, made with tapioca flour, offers a slightly chewy texture with a rich milk and butter flavor. Customers will also receive a special sticker as a purchase bonus. Be sure to enjoy the new Cinnamoroll drink available at Pearl Lady’s sister shop CHABAR!

CHABAR x Cinnamoroll Collaboration Drink

Japanese fashion brand Graniph is set to release a new PIngu collection on June 1 as part of its ‘Design T-Shirts Store Graniph’ line. Orders are open until May 28 at 12:00 (JST).     Pingu is perhaps the most famous penguin in the world. He is known from the beloved British-Swisss claymation series. The collection features a fun line-up of Pingu, Pinga, Robby, and other familiar faces from the show.  

The Line-Up

 

T-Shirts | ¥2750 Each (Tax Included)　

Middle Sleeve T-Shirt | ¥3,520 (Tax Included)

Socks | ¥880 Each (Tax Included)

One Pieces | ¥3,300 Each (Tax Included)

Kids T-Shirts | ¥2,750 Each (Tax Included) Kids One Pieces | ¥3,300 Each (Tax Included)

    Check out Graniph’s YouTube channel to see more on this collection as well as their other releases.   ©2021 JOKER

Last year marked the 40th anniversary of the Swiss claymation children's television series Pingu which first hit the air in 1980. Japan has been celebrating the milestone with the Pingu Exhibition, and now it's heading to Sapporo Factory in Hokkaido where it will run from April 23 to May 30.   Original material for Pingu by the show's creator Otmar Gutmann will be exhibited, as well as the actual clay figures, dioramas, storyboards, and more that were used during the filming in Switzerland. Until last year's exhibition, many of the 400 or so items on display have never been shown in Japan before.   There is a Pingu Market at the exhibition where fans of the noot-nooting penguin can get their hands on a range of exclusive items, pre-orders, and more. The exhibition also sees the return of the popular Pingu Egg capsule toy which has a mini Pingu figure inside.  

Pingu Market Exclusive Merchandise

The market shelves are lined with limited-edition exclusives, pre-orders, items made in collaboration with popular brands, and more. Please note that a ticket to the exhibition is required to enter the shop. 

Pingu Egg (5 Possible Prizes) | ¥300 Per Turn (Tax Included)

Have a turn at the capsule toy gacha where the figure you receive in your Pingu Egg is completely random. Each comes with an accessory.  

Pingu 40th Figure (Robby) | ¥17,600 (Tax Included)

The Robby figure captures a scene taken from the 7th episode of the Pingu series titled Hide and Seek in English. Only 100 of these figures are available to buy and is limited to one per person.

atari CAFE&DINING at Ikebukuro PARCO in Tokyo is now serving up a Pingu-inspired menu of drinks and desserts until May 31. Each one definitely has the noot-of-approval from everybody's favourite penguin.  

Pingu's Menu

Strawberry Fruit Milk | ¥858 (Tax Included)

The line-up includes three milk beverages each flavoured with a different fruit and all topped with a cute Pingu marshmallow

Mango Fruit Milk | ¥858 (Tax Included)

Banana Fruit Milk | ¥858 (Tax Included)

Pingu's Snowy Mountain Milk Strawberry Pancakes | ¥1,320 (Tax Included)

This pancake dish is inspired by Pingu and Pinga sliding down the snowy mountain on their sled. The Pingu and Pinga 'picture' is actually an edible wafer.  

Pingu Drinks Coaster

Get a free Pingu coaster with your order of any of these menu items.   ©2021 JOKER

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Swiss claymation children's television series Pingu. Japan is celebrating the milestone with the "Pingu Exhibition" which will take place on the 8th floor of Matsuya Ginza in Tokyo from August 12 to 24. Original material for Pingu by the show's creator Otmar Gutmann will be exhibited, as well as the actual clay figures, dioramas, storyboards, and more that were used during the filming in Switzerland. Many of the 400 or so items on display have never been shown in Japan before.   There will also be a recorded interview with Seishi Kattou, the only Japanese animator that was working in the Pingu studio at the time. But the fun doesn't end there, as there will even be an AR attraction made using CG and original animations from the Pingu in the City 3D CG film.  

A peek into the exhibition

The secret story behind Pingu's creation

Visitors will be able to learn about the author Otmar Gutmann as well as see production materials, storyboards, and other treasured items that give insight into how the creator and studio gave rise to Pingu. Exhibits: Notes from Otmar Gutmaan, storyboards, clay figures, dioramas, pilot episode screening, and more  

The Clay Room

Pingu's iconic exaggerated elastic movements are made possible through the use of clay. These movements play an important part in conveying characters' emotions and are one element of the show's storytelling. These movements will be exhibited in the event's Clay Room where you'll get to see different models morphing into different shapes. These clay figures are all handmade by the Pingu studio staff themselves.   Exhibits: Clay figures, tools, Pingu studio videos, and more  

3DCG Animation and Pingu in the future

Pingu in the City is a Japanese 3D CG animated series which used the same style of the original series but instead opted for computer animation, adding a different layer of charm to the internationally adored series. Visitors will be able to enjoy this digital Pingu in a variety of ways.   Exhibits: Digital videos, AR, and more.   There will also be exclusive Pingu exhibition merchandise on sale, as well as pre-sales of Pingu merchandise yet to go on sale.  

Shin Sobue (Pingu Exhibition Art Director) | Comment

"This will be the first all-out exhibition for Pingu, a series which has transcended borders from Switzerland and the UK to Japan. This will be a happy exhibition that neatly divides everything for people to enjoy, from its mysterious language to its comical movements, story, and laid-back humour." (Translated from Japanese by MMN)   ©2020 JOKER

OCHABA opened its first branch in Shinjuku in March last year as the first cafe in Japan specialising in Japanese milk tea. The cafe has announced that it will open its second branch in Asakusa on February 22, 2020. The new cafe will introduce a new item to the menu: crepes. The chewy wraps are made with matcha and Japanese tea and filled with mascarpone and fresh cream.    

Plain Tiramisu - ¥600

Kogashi Houjicha Puree - ¥650

Strawberry Daifuku - ¥730

The cafe will also serve OCHABA’s famous Japanese milk tea topped up with warabimochi, made using carefully-selected tea leaves from Maruzen Tea, a Shizuoka-based tea company with a history spanning more than 70 years.   If you love Japanese tea, you’ll love OCHABA’s desserts made using all different kinds of teas.