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Last year, on one of our many Tokyo foraging expeditions for weird and cute toys, we picked up a selection of Doggy Bread straps. At least, we think we did. Honestly, the idea of little figures of cute dogs wrapped in baked goods is so simultaneously appealing and weird that we’re not sure it wasn’t some bizarre dream caused by falling asleep while fighting off a hot dog craving.

Not only is Doggy Bread real, though, it’s back! We recently stumbled across the newest series of these adorably strange toys and came away with two new plastic pets: a sweet bean bread pug and a Pomeranian cutlet sandwich.

As always, Doggy Bread comes to us courtesy of toy-making giant Bandai, which first released the odd little toys in January of 2013. The company is now onto its fifth batch, which is actually the sixth if you’re including the greatest hits Special Color Versions that came out between the third and fourth Doggy Bread lineups.

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Doggy Bread is available from Gachapon toy vending machines, and Bandai says the best place to find one stocked with pastry pooches is a branch of electronics retailer Yodobashi Camera. We found one on the sidewalk in front of a Tokyo toy store, though. Continuing our streak of good luck, we also discovered we had enough change in our pocket to buy two of the 200-yen (US$1.98) figures.

We dropped in two 100-yen coins, turned the handle, and out fell our first baked version of man’s best friend, an Anpug (pug inside a piece of anpan, or sweet bean bread).

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Just look at that little guy! He can scowl defiantly all he wants, but we’re still going to smile at how his stubby legs and tail just barely manage to stick out from his wheat-based wardrobe.

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We didn’t want Anpug to be lonely, though, se we tossed another 200 yen in the coin slot and were rewarded this time with a Pomecutlet Sandwich, which substitutes a Pomeranian for the thick cut of fried pork Japan calls katsu.

▼ He looks like he’s accepted his situation (being trapped between two slices of bread), and is content to lay back, relax, and wait for help.

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▼ From this angle, you can hardly see its canine influences.

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Each Doggy Bread figure is only about four centimeters (1.6 inches) in length, so it’s really a testament to the skill of Bandai’s designers that they’re able to cram so much cuteness into such a tiny package. Really, our only regret is that we ran out of coins and couldn’t keep pumping money into the machine until we also scored a toy poodle pancake, corgi hot dog, shih tzu sandwich, and awesomely named Chihuassant (a Chihuahua/croissant hybrid). So while we’re happy to have added to our Doggy bread kennel, we’re also making a mental note to carry more change for the next couple of weeks.

Related: Doggie Bread official website
Photos: RocketNews24
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