Add some major socks appeal to your swim sessions with these waterproof over-the-knee socks available from wacky goods menagerie Village Vanguard!
Village Vanguard (Page 6)
The mascot character for Japan’s national broadcaster would like to show his “domo” by making you pay for his food.
Need some new figures for your desk? Then check out these Buddhist statue figures from Kaiyodo!
Do you have ears? Do you wish they were a heck of a lot cuter? If so, we have the perfect product for you: Relax Cling Earrings! Featuring hedgehogs, chicks, and soaring birds, these animal-themed earrings are sure to please any pierced animal lover looking to make their earbuds twice as adorable!
When you are kicking back in the theater on December 18 with a big bag of popcorn in one hand and a tall drink in the other, there’s only one thing you’ll be missing: appropriately themed cup clingers that will level up your movie game from Padawan to a Jedi Knight.
If you’re into Japanese fashion (or if you happen to be Gwen Stefani circa 2004), you’re probably familiar with Harajuku’s Takeshita Street. Considered by many to be the nucleus of Japan’s youth fashion world, you can find everything from punk shirts to vintage clothes to the freshest kicks all on this narrow pedestrian street. There are plenty of shops, but perhaps the most famous is ACDC Rag, which sells everything from cute galaxy cat jackets to dark (but still cute) goth backpacks.
Recently, in collaboration with Village Vanguard, Japan’s premier retailer of weird novelty goods, ACDC Rag unveiled their new fall accessories and they are panda-rific! Now you can keep warm and maintain a look so cute it’s endangered!
How much do you love bread? Would you cuddle with it? Wear it on your back? Use it to carry your books home from school?
Well now thanks to Village Vanguard, the popular Japanese supplier of crazy and unique items, you can do all of these things! They will be releasing a series of bread-themed items to help you get your balanced breakfast on your way to school or work.
Ready to be the toast of the town with an egg-cellent new backpack? Read on to find out how to get in on a slice of the action!
Village Vanguard is one of Japan’s more unique stores, selling everything from inappropriate T-shirts to Attack on Titan curry to more inappropriate T-shirts to whatever this is. Some of the food products they stock sit squarely on the border between delicious and “gag gift,” but perhaps the most intriguing of those items is the new Space Tea.
But does it really taste like space? Naturally, we were skeptical…but also curious enough to run out and buy a can. So, come along with us on a journey into the depths of spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace!
Mochi rice cakes, made from glutinous rice, come in all shapes and sizes. They’re soft and filling, and they can be enjoyed as a dessert or a meal, depending on how they’re prepared. What’s not to like, right?
And now it looks like someone’s created these insanely adorable animal-shaped cakes out of mochi…but wait, is that what they really are? Would you believe us if we told you these are actually soft toy figures that look and feel like mochi? Well, whatever they are, these little critters are sure to elicit delighted squeals of “kawaii!”
Village Vanguard is a popular chain of novelty stores across Japan. There you can find all sorts of things from bird poop stickers to Resident Evil curry to wasabi toothpaste. As such, it’s easy to get desensitized to their range of items and lose the ability to be surprised with what they come out with next.
Or so we thought, until word came of a new product that will be sold there around the end of May. Purin Senyo Shoyu is a specially crafted soy sauce meant to be drizzled over a jiggly glob of pudding. You might wonder what pudding and soy sauce taste like together. The answer is surprisingly simple: it tastes like sea urchin.
Remember Gudetama, the apathetic anthropomorphized egg character from Sanrio with no desire whatsoever to do anything at all? Well, it seems the most unmotivated character we’ve ever seen from Sanrio has actually gotten down to business, if only for a limited time. That’s right, Gudetama now has his very own cafe at the Village Vanguard Diner at the Yokohama Lumine, and he appears in the menu as an edible ingredient, which we guess isn’t so improbable, since he is an egg, after all. And boy, does he look adorable as part of a dish — definitely good enough to eat!
Japan’s hot and sticky summer days may mean that people are wearing slightly less than usual, but unless you’re some kind of magma demon impervious to the 34-degree heat we’ve been having recently, it also means you’ll be throwing sweat-soaked t-shirts and underwear into the washing machine with depressing frequency, making every other day laundry day.
Fortunately, book and cutesy crap emporium Village Vanguard has a couple of new t-shirts that are perfect for summer – and one of them already looks drenched before you even put it on!
At approximately 8:44 on the evening of 16 November, a magnitude-4 earthquake shook the Kanto area of Japan. Although some barely noticed the tremor, the quake dealt a sizeable blow to the Village Vanguard store in Sangenjaya, Tokyo.
Village Vanguard is a chain of book stores in Japan, but also the place to go for those looking for a Jamaican flag Zippo lighter, bag of freeze-dried astronaut food, DVD of Golden Eggs, and/or bag with a Dr. Pepper logo on it in a country that by and large neither knows of nor likes the drink.
Following the damage caused by the quake, an outpouring of support has been seen from netizens in Japan.














Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
Massive manga collaboration bringing 100 years of Shueisha manga to Uniqlo T-shirts【Photos】
Which Japanese beef bowl chain’s near-identical demon grater onioroshi ponzu gyudon is the best?
Totoro cream puffs and Catbus cookies are finally available in downtown Tokyo
Does a poopy butthole translate to lottery-winning riches in Japan? The results are in!
Mister Donut and Godiva continue their sweet sweets relationship with new treats on sale now in Japan
Poké Ball cakes here for limited but long time to celebrate Pokémon franchise’s 30th anniversary
The detail on these Japanese dollhouses is amazing!
We try an unusual buffet of dishes made from wild game at a roadside stop in Chiba
Majority of Japanese women in survey regret marrying their husband, but that’s only half the story
Starbucks Japan releases new Frappuccino and latte for Valentine’s Day
Our 52-year-old pole dancing reporter shares his tips for achieving your New Year’s exercise goal
Ramen restaurant’s English menu prices are nearly double its Japanese ones, denies discriminating
Giant hotel rooms in Osaka reflect the new non-niche face of travel in Japan.
Japanese women showing rebounding interest in giving Valentine’s Day chocolate【Survey】
Princess Mononoke magnets return just in time to treat yourself to awesome anime decorations
10 times to avoid traveling in Japan in 2026
What’s inside Starbucks Japan’s fukubukuro lucky bag for 2026?
Starbucks Japan ready to get Year of the Horse started with adorable drinkware and plushies【Pics】
7-Eleven Japan starts new temporary luggage storage service in over 300 branches
Disillusionment at Tsukiji’s tourist-target prices led us to a great ramen restaurant in Tokyo
Starbucks teams up with 166-year-old Kyoto doll maker for Year of the Horse decorations【Photos】
Tokyo’s Tsukiji sushi neighborhood asks tour groups to stay away for the rest of the month
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your home
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
Starbucks Japan reveals new sakura drinkware collection, inspired by evening cherry blossoms
Updated cherry blossom forecast shows extra-long sakura season for Japan this year
Mister Donut and Godiva continue their sweet sweets relationship with new treats on sale now in Japan
Poké Ball cakes here for limited but long time to celebrate Pokémon franchise’s 30th anniversary
The detail on these Japanese dollhouses is amazing!
We try an unusual buffet of dishes made from wild game at a roadside stop in Chiba
Majority of Japanese women in survey regret marrying their husband, but that’s only half the story
Smell like a Demon Slayer (or a Demon) with new line of Kimetsu no Yaiba fragrances
Japan’s kid-friendly ski program is now selling Pikachu snowboards for a limited time only
Starbucks teams up with the oldest of Japan’s Six Ancient Kilns to create a Bizen ware coffee mug
Nintendo bringing real-life Zelda Zonai Device capsule toy machines to Japan【Photos】
Amazing Pringles flavours exist in Japan
Beautiful unofficial Ghibli village in a Japanese forest is a magical place to spend an afternoon
How to write “sakura” in Japanese (and why it’s written that way)