
Totoro Mini Pouches are enormously cute【Photos】
Big Mini and Medium Mini Ghibli pouches are like little functional plushies.
In laymen conversations, the name 'Totoro' tends to get tossed around to refer to this guy.
But as educated anime zoologists know, the gray forest spirit indicated by the arrow in the above image is just one of three distinct Totoros. Technically, he's the 'Big Totoro,' not to be confused with the blue 'Medium Totoro' or white 'Small Totoro.'
So it is, arguably, just a bit confusing that Studio Ghibli specialty shop Donguri Kyowakoku is now offering a 'Big Totoro Mini Pouch,' but any extra effort our brains need to parse that description is more than offset by the joy the design gives our hearts.
The zippered pouch is part of what Donguri Kyowakoku calls its wazakka line, with wazakka loosely translating to 'Japanese-style housewares and accessories.' The rustic, course-touch fabric is meant to evoke traditional Japanese textiles, and the designers say the pouch is especially well-suited to stuffing in the sleeve of your kimono to store important stuff as you head out to a summer festival, though with it looking this adorable, there's never really a bad time to use it.
And don't worry, they made sure to include the Big Totoro's tail too.
Of course, the Big Totoro Mini Pouch name implies the exitance of other-size Totoro Mini Pouches, and sure enough, there's one for the Medium Totoro too!
Though the big gray guy is the most famous Totoro, you could argue that the Medium Totoro is the more appropriate muse for a pouch, since in the anime he's often depicted carrying around a sack of acorns, though that isn't part of the pouch's design.
Despite their 'Big' and 'Medium' names, though, both Mini Pouches are identically sized, at 10 centimeters (3.9 inches) in height and 90 centimeters across. They're also priced the same, at 1,980 yen (US$13.65) and share the same style of leafy zipper pull.
Both the Big and Medium Totoro Mini Pouches are available now thanks to a restock, but oddly enough there doesn't seem to be a Small Totoro Mini Pouch available. Maybe it's coming soon, but for the time being the Big Totoro pouch can be ordered through the Donguri Kyowakoku online shop here, and the Medium one here.
Source: Donguri Kyowakoku
Top image: Donguri Kyowakoku
Insert images: Studio Ghibli (edited by SoraNews24), Donguri Kyowakoku (1, 2)
● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


SoraNews24
4 hours ago
- SoraNews24
Beautiful covers make Studio Ghibli vinyl soundtracks and image albums look as good as they sound
Gorgeous artwork graces the jackets of LP releases of the work of Ghibli's greatest composer. Some audiophiles insist that vinyl recordings sound better than digital ones. You can make a pretty strong argument, though, that they sound better too, Because of their size and scratchable material, records need jackets, and those jackets can have beautiful artwork. Serving as stunning examples of that are these vinyl records for the anime films of Studio Ghibli, on offer from specialty shop Donguri Kyowakoku. There aren't just rectangular croppings of their respective movie posters or DVD covers, either, but artwork specially chosen for the LP jackets. Pictured above is the soundtrack for Princess Mononoke, which comes on two double-sided records containing 33 songs from Jo Hisaishi, the long-collaborating composer behind all of the Ghibli anime music we'll be looking at today, including Spirited Away. The perspective and sense of scale on the 21-song soundtrack's cover makes the bathhouse of the gods look both unsettling and intriguing, which describes the tone of many of the film's scenes. Ghibli's memorable anime architecture is also on display from a fresh angle in the jacket for the 26-piece Howl's Moving Castle soundtrack. Though Hisaishi has composed the scores for just about all of director Hayao Miyazaki's theatrical anime, he worked only one time with Isao Takahata when the late Ghibli co-founder was in the director's chair, making the 37-piece soundtrack for The Tale of the Princess Kaguya a once-in-an-artistic lifetime collaboration between the two. And last, we come to what was supposed to be Miyazaki's last feature-length anime, The Wind Rises, and its 32-piece soundtrack. All of the above soundtracks are two-record sets, although only the Princess Mononoke one uses both sides of both records, with the others using only one side of their second. Meanwhile, the Kiki's Delivery Service Soundtrack Music Collection is a more modestly sized one-disc, 21-piece selection of music from the only anime produced, directed, and written by Miyazaki. And if you want even more beautiful Ghibli record jacket art, it can be found on the covers for the film's 'image albums.' Image albums are what the Japanese music sphere calls musical compositions inspired by the setting, story, and characters of an animated work, but which aren't heard within the anime itself. In the case of the Kik's Delivery Service image album above, for example, Hisaishi's aim was to recreate the feeling of how Miyazaki described the setting to him, 'A vaguely European town, somewhere near the Mediterranean sea,' in musical form, in much the same way that the beautiful cover artwork of Kiki getting ready to depart her parent's house isn't taken directly from the film. That same philosophy is behind the image albums for Spirited Away , Howl's Moving Castle , and Princess Monoke . Each of the image albums are single-record, with 10 pieces of music and priced at 4,180 yen (US$29), as is the Kiki's Delivery Service Soundtrack Music Collection , while the two record soundtracks are 5,280 yen. Several of them were sold out and unavailable until recently, but they're all restocked and can be ordered through the Donguri Kyowakoku online store here. Source: Donguri Kyowakoku Top image: Donguri Kyowakoku Insert images: Donguri Kyowakoku (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!


Japan Today
7 hours ago
- Japan Today
Beyond matcha sweets: Japan's favorite katsu sandwich maker releasing matcha pork cutlet sandwich
By Casey Baseel, SoraNews24 It might be hard to believe, but matcha sweets are, for the most part, actually a relatively recent addition to the Japanese culinary scene. Yes, green tea ice cream has been a thing for a long time, and a handful of traditional Japanese confectionaries used matcha, but for the most part matcha was a beverage, not a flavoring. Of course, modern Japanese society has now fully embraced all sorts of sweet matcha treats. But what about using matcha as a seasoning for something savory? Image: Maisen Maisen is a Tokyo pork cutlet restaurant that was founded in 1965, which also has pre-prepared takeout shops in some Japanese department stores' food sections. One of their biggest hits is their hire katsu (pork tenderloin cutlet) sandwich, pictured above. This summer they're offering a new version, created in partnership with tea-brand Iemon (part of the Suntory group): a katsu sandwich made with matcha. Image: PR Times The cutlet itself is the same deep-fried slice of tenderloin that Maisen fans know and love, but the soft, crustless bread is matcha infused, with Iemon green tea powder kneaded into the dough before baking. Maisen promises a refreshing green tea flavor and aroma as you bite into the bread, and even the sweet and savory katsu sauce that's poured on the cutlet slices is a special matcha version made just for this collaboration. Image: PR Times Maisen's Iemon Hire Katsu Sandwich goes on sale June 1, priced at 540 yen. In recognition of the Iemon brand's Uji/Kyoto Prefecture roots, it'll be available at the Maisen branches in the Kyoto Daimaru, JR Kyoto Isetan, Kyoto Porta department stores/shopping centers, and will also be coming to the Osaka World Expo via a Maisen food truck, though there's no exact date announced for that yet. Meanwhile, here in Tokyo we'll be keeping our fingers crossed and our stomachs growling that this special sandwich eventually makes its way to east Japan too. Source: Maisen, PR Times via Japaaan Read more stories from SoraNews24. -- Japan's favorite pork cutlet sandwich maker also has awesome katsudon restaurant in Tokyo Station -- Katsudon vs. tonkatsu vs. katsu sandwich – What's the best way to eat pork cutlet in Japan? -- What happens when a sweet bun maker teams up with a tonkatsu sandwich specialist? External Link © SoraNews24


SoraNews24
12 hours ago
- SoraNews24
Donuts beyond mochi mochi: Mister Donut's new donuts are so soft they're almost drinkable
Japan's favorite donut chain rolls out Micchurin donuts to celebrate its 55th anniversary. 'Mochi mochi' is a Japanese word that can be kind of difficult to explain, but is easy to feel. It refers to a consistency that's soft and chewy, but also has a certain satisfying weightiness to it. As you can probably guess, mochi mochi is often used to describe the texture of mochi rice cakes and dumplings, but it's also an apt description for the style of donuts made by Japan's favorite donut chain, Mister Donut. With Mister Donut celebrating its 55th anniversary this year, though, they wanted to do something special, and they've created some new treats that they promise 'go beyond mochi mochi.' Called Micchurin, these new baked goods took two years to develop, and Mister Donut says the result is a texture unlike anything else they've ever offered in the half-century plus of being in business, and that it'll leave people amazed that donuts can feel like this. Looking at their slightly amorphous shape, you might be tempted to think these extra-soft and chewy donuts are just donuts that are baked for an unusually short time. That's not the case, though, as Mister Donut says the Micchurin are still fried donuts, but that their texture comes from a special coating that softens them up. And just how soft are they? Well, when we picked one up at a press preview, our fingers immediately sunk into the dough! Mind you, we weren't trying to squeeze the Micchurin. We'd picked it up with the same gentle grip we always do when handling something as precious as a donut, but even that modicum of force caused it to indent. These new donuts are so soft that it almost feels like you could drink them. There's clearly potential here for all sorts of limited-time and seasonal Micchurin flavors, but to start Mister Donut is rolling out four kinds: kinako (cinnamon-like roasted soybean powder), mitarashi (a sweet soy sauce glaze traditionally poured on mochi dumplings), azuki (sweet red bean paste), and brown sugar with warabimochi, with prices ranging from 205 to 226 yen (approximately US$1.40-US$1.55). The Micchurin donuts go on sale at Mister Donut branches across Japan on June 4. Top image: SoraNews24 Insert images: Mister Donut, SoraNews24 ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! [ Read in Japanese ]