And it’s thanks to, of all people, Shohei Ohtani.
Japan’s boxy leather backpacks called randoseru are traditionally worn by elementary school kids, who use the same pack for all six tears of elementary school. However, with their high-quality materials and distinctive appearance, in recent years some designers have begun making randoseru for adults too.
But Tokyo bag maker Tsuchiya Kaban is the only company that’s making randoseru for dogs.
Officially called the Pet Randoseru, the the exterior is leather with metal fittings, like all proper traditional randoseru, with nylon straps.
The Pet Randoseru is actually a two-part design, consisting of a harness that the bag attaches to or can be separated from.
There’s also a spot to clip a leash to, located on the bag portion…
…so that you can also carry it yourself, if you’re letting your dog off the leash at a park or dog run.
The bag measures 14.3 x 10 x 8 centimeters (5.6 x 3.9 x 3.1 inches), and can hold up to 8 kilograms (17.6 pounds) of snacks, bones, or other doggy necessities.
This actually isn’t the first time for Tsuchiya Kaban to offer the Pet Randoseru, as it first appeared last October, but had since been sold out for some time. A surge of new interest occurred this month, though, thanks to none other than baseball star Shohei Ohtani.
On Wednesday, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ designated hitter made a post on his Instagram account to mark the half-way point of the current Major League Baseball season. Among the included photos is one of Ohtani walking in the Dodgers Stadium parking lot with Dekopin, his pet Kooikerhondje, and in the photo the pooch is wearing Tsuchiya Kaban’s Pet Randoseru.
With Ohtani being just about the best-loved celebrity in all of Japan these days, online commenters started asking where they could get this randoseru for their dogs too. Noticing the chatter, Tsuchiya Kaban sprang into action and announced that it will be offering a new batch of Pet Randoseru which will go on sale July 1, exclusively through the Tsuchiya Kaban online shop here, with delivery scheduled for October.
In keeping with randoseru authenticity, the Pet Randoseru doesn’t come cheap, and is priced at 49,500 yen (US$309). Still, demand is likely to be high, and Tsuchiya Kaban has said that quantities will be limited, so anyone looking to snag one will want to act quick when preorders open at 10 a.m. on July 1.
Source: Twitter/@tsuchiya_kaban via IT Media, Tsuchiya Kaban
Images: Tsuchiya Kaban
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