Waiter, there’s kawaii in my food.
It’s hard to believe that it was a decade ago that fashion pop idol Kyary Pamyu Pamyu first hit the world with a dose of psychedelic kawaii in the form of her debut single “PONPONPON.”
Several years and hits later it’s great to see her still out there fighting the cute fight, and that she has recently embarked on her 30-venue national tour: Kyary Pamyu Pamyu 10th Anniversary Japan Tour 2022 Candy Wave.
Even better, as a part of her stop in Gunma Prefecture on 29 January, a very special train station bento known as an “ekiben” was made in her honor. For this, she collaborated with the Gunma ekiben specialists at Oginoya, known for their famous Toge no Kamameshi, which is a pot of iron-kettle-cooked koshihikari rice soaked with a special sauce, chicken, shiitake, quail eggs, and chestnuts all served in a wonderful little Mashikoyaki clay pot.
▼ A normal Toge no Kamameshi
Of course, when you make a Kyary Pamyu Pamyu Toge no Kamameshi, it’s important to dial the kawaii to an 11. So all of the ingredients are now housed in an adorably pink clay pot with a paper cover with the Oginoya logo redesigned in the singer’s signature style.
Long-time fans might even recognize the specific style as that from her 2011 single “Tsukematsukeru.”
▼ Oginoya logo X Tsukematsukeru cover = Kyary Pamyu Pamyu Oginoya collab logo
The food inside has also undergone some changes while retaining that same classic Oginoya quality and taste. Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s own favorite foods were added and/or given a volume boost, namely chicken, mushrooms, edamame, bamboo sprouts, and pickled ginger.
She’s also a fan of the sour umeboshi pickled plums so a few large ones were put in the pot with everything else, and a bunch of little “princess” plums were also added in a separate container. And to complete the look, one of the quail eggs were given a cute pink hue through slight pickling.
▼ Kyary Pamyu Pamyu showing off her bento
More than just a neat souvenir, this bento is a part of Kyary Pamyu Pmayu’s larger Local Power Japan Project which aims to revitalize rural areas in Japan through promoting their products. This is the second such project after a T-shirt collaboration with a 156-year-old shop in Kanagawa that sells the often-pink steamed fish sausage, kamaboko. These T-shirts were sold at her Gunma show along with the special Oginoya bento for 1,500 yen (US$13). All items are also sold on the Local Power Project website but the bento were sold out as of this writing.
It goes to show that the project is working and that this is one entertainer with a heart so big it’s bound to burst out of her chest… and then get chased by a flying cartoon skull through a forest of lollipops.
Source: Local Power Japan Project, PR Times
Top image: YouTube/Kyary Pamyu Pamyu
Images: PR Times (Unless otherwise noted)
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