Totoro’s traditional snack time may not fill up our stomachs, but it’ll fill our hearts with warm fuzzy feelings.
“Sweet” is a pretty good way to describe the feeling fans get from watching My Neighbor Totoro. For pretty much the entire runtime of the anime film, the stakes are low and there’s little, if anything, that could be called a conflict driving the plot forward. Even when a crisis does eventually occur, it’s resolved in a matter of minutes, and the lasting impression is one of comforting sweetness comparable to a nice dessert.
So why not keep running with that feeling and pair Totoro with a series of desserts for an adorable line of accessories?
That’s just what the designers at Studio Ghibli specialty shop Donguri Kyowakoku have done with their Totoro Wagashi Burarin Series. Burarin, loosely translated, means “dangly,” while wagashi has a much more definitive translation: Japanese sweets
Each of the four charm designs features Totoro enjoying a traditional, iconic Japanese dessert. In the one pictured directly above, for example, he’s got two skewers of dango (mochi dumplings), enough to share with a Small Totoro buddy, and also a bowl of matcha green tea to sip.
Other options on the figurative menu consist of an ichigo daifuku (mochi dumpling with a strawberry inside of it), taiyaki red snapper-shaped cake filled with sweet red beans…
…and sakura mochi, specifically the Domyoji-style version of the treat, popular in Kansai (central Japan), in which sweet, sticky mochi rice is wrapped in a cherry blossom tree leaf.
Each of the charms has a strap to fulfill its burarin promise, and as adorable as they are on their own, they also work well as subtle accents to other fashion items.
⭐️再入荷⭐️
— ジブリがいっぱい どんぐり共和国【公式】 (@ghibli_dongurep) December 23, 2024
さくらもち、だんご、たいやき、大福もち。
トトロたちと和菓子が一緒になった
和菓子ぶらりんシリーズ🍡
細部まで丁寧に作られています。
よく見ると、いろいろなところにマックロクロスケが…👀#どんぐり共和国 pic.twitter.com/ntcYMTmmxs
となりのトトロ 和菓子ぶらりん
— ジブリがいっぱい どんぐり共和国【公式】 (@ghibli_dongurep) December 23, 2024
🔸さくらもちのおみやげ
🔸だんごでひとやすみ
🔸たいやき釣り
🔸新鮮いちごの大福もち
各¥1,650
12/26(木)再入荷! pic.twitter.com/FeIArVezwC
In sort of a parallel to how sweets are meant to be a special-occasion treat, not an every-day part of your diet, the Totoro Wagashi Burarin Series has been unavailable for a while, but as of December 26 the line is back in stock and available through the Donguri Kyowakoku online shop here, priced at 1,650 yen (US$10.65) each. And if you need some Totoro sweets you can actually eat yourself, this Tokyo bakery is the place you want to be.
Source: Twitter/@ghibli_dongurep
Top image: Twitter/@ghibli_dongurep
Insert images: Twitter/@ghibli_dongurep (1, 2)
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