Japanizmo – Japanese Trends, Culture, and Business

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Takara Tomy, a Japanese toy company, has found a way for its customers to go green and de-stress. Meet Nohohon-zoku (“carefree family”), a smiley bobble-head toy that uses solar panels. Place these shiny happy people in the sun and watch their heads do a slow, rhythmic wiggle and sway. It’s mesmerizing and oddly calming. Are they hypnotizing us??

The figurines evolved from a previous line of bobble heads that served as business card holders or singing, dancing toys — most required triple-A batteries. No more!

Find a sunny spot on your desk and you’re good to go. In the UK, the toys are being marketed as “Sunshine Buddies,” and used as cute, inexpensive gifts. This goes to prove that the line between child’s toy and adult’s fun collectible is getting smaller and smaller (see also: cell phone charms).

And yes, the bobble heads come in Hello Kitty and Pikachu flavor, but Winnie the Pooh is my favorite 🙂 Too bad he’s a rare item priced at $75. The regular ones go for around $10.

People are so proud of / obsessed with their Nohohon-zoku that they’re putting them on YouTube. Check it out:

Sarah S.

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May 8, 2009 at 11:38 am 2 comments