rilakkuma top

It’s only Wednesday, and already we’ve seen two brand new Rilakkuma products–clearly Japan’s favourite little bear is going to have a good year. Thankfully, this one won’t hurt your bank balance quite like the ear-toting Rilakkuma sofa we showed you yesterday. What you see before you are blocks of tofu designed especially for fans of the lethargic teddy, each featuring imprints of his face. Tofu may not be the most exciting foodstuff in the world, but we’re fairly sure this would help liven it up.

Made by Satonoyuki Foods, Rilakkuma “kinu” or silken tofu comes in packs of four 80g blocks, each one a little different and featuring the faces of Rilakkuma himself, cheeky youngling Korilakkuma, and bird pal Kiiroitori.

kuma 1

While the flavour is no doubt fairly ordinary, the idea is that by adding a dash of soy sauce or pon-su, which are both typical accompaniments to the healthy bean-curd blocks, the bear’s face becomes clear to see, delighting adult fans and maybe – just maybe – convincing smaller kids to actually eat the stuff instead of demanding fried chicken with a side of M&Ms for every meal.

▼ The tofu on its own

kuma 2

▼ And with a few drops of soy sauce

kuma 3

Pretty cute, but I doubt I’d pay 168 yen (US$1.60) for a pack when I can buy the same amount of plain old tofu at my local supermarket for about half that. Then again, I’m not a purikura-obsessed high school girl or a fussy kindergartener, so perhaps the joy of finding popular characters’ faces in my food is lost on me?

Images via Satonoyuki Foods
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