‘Beastial New Year’
Hello all, look what finally turned up in the post! My Nihon Box from January this year, it was such a long wait for this one as it was shipped just before Japan Post resumed their normal service. So let’s begin with the usual spiel of what this service offers!
Much like SoKawaii, Nihon Box is a Japanese monthly subscription service that handpicks at least 6 items each month that are almost exclusive to Japan and ships them straight to your door. Their items are a mixture of Otaku Anime related merchandise and figures, as well as traditional Japanese items, from sweets to tableware. All of this is available to subscribe to for what I find a very affordable price each month.
Like SoKawaii, the more months you pay upfront the cheaper the price for individual boxes will be. https://www.nihonbox.com/en
Monthly is €29.99 plus shipping costs
3 Months is a single payment of €86.97, making each box €28.99, plus shipping costs.
6 Months is a single payment of €170.94, making each box €28.49, plus shipping costs.
Here is a link to their FAQ page, just in case you’re wondering if they ship to your country: https://www.nihonbox.com/en/nihonbox/faq
January’s box theme was ‘Beastial New Year’, which also marks the year of the Ox according to the zodiac calendar. The theme ties in with the Netflix show ‘Beastars’, which became a fan favorite when Season One was first released back in 2019. To which we received two items of merchandise from the show, including a Foaming Soap Dispenser – which is pictured above on the left. This pump bottle features the main wolf Legoshi, with the shows logo. Great to have when you buy the refillable bags of liquid soap. We also received a Legoshi plush as well, which is a nice addition to the box. As you don’t see many Beastars merch here in the west.
Moving on, we received a Demon Slayer mini figure from the Hikkake collection. Hikkake translates to Hooked, which is exactly what this figure series represents. Each character hooks onto a box underneath, with three characters available including Tanjiro, Nezuko and Zenitsu. This is just series one of these figures, you can buy the rest of them and more from Dekai Anime at the moment through this link: https://tinyurl.com/zjjz2mx6
Next up is this tiny little glass hanging mascot, featuring a Tanuki and Kitsune. This very well detailed figure pictured above is from the PUTITTO Tanuki to Kitsune collection. With five different figures to collect, they are from a very popular Japanese online manga series that tells the story of these two mischievous creatures from Japanese folklore. Its very cute and is certainly a series I would be interested in getting into. Although the figure is far from practical, it would be cute to have on your glass shelf or on any display glassware you might have.
Now in this box there was a note saying that when my box was being prepared to ship my food item – the Monaka chestnut and mochi, went out of date. So they kindly replaced the item with the above two, which on the left I am unsure as to what exactly it was. I was guessing some kind of mochi maybe? While on the right was the brown sugar soybean sticks that I really enjoyed from a previous box. Unfortunately neither of which I can eat, as both items went out of date a month or so before arriving in the post. Which was very disappointing, but I appreciate the thought.
Following on from our food items, we received a miso soup bowl featuring an image of Mount Fuji. This item has been entirely made in Japan, with a black background finish on the outside of the bowl, with images of sakura, clouds and the iconic Fuji-san. The only issue I have with it, is that it appears to be made of hard plastic. Which gives it a bit of a cheap feel to it. An interesting fact though is that Mt. Fuji is one of the symbols that represent a New Year in Japan. It is said that if you dream of the Mountain on the first sleep of the year, it will bring you good luck!
Another authentic item made exclusively in Japan, is the above Tako – Flying Kite. This is another New Years tradition in Japan, where you fly a kite with a traditional design on it. It can also be used as decoration, but I hope to be able to fly it one day. Perhaps pack it in my luggage and bring it with me on my eventual trip to Tokyo. Its very small, about the size of an A5 page. Little to no weight to it and was available in a number of different designs. The one I received featured a number of Gods in a boat, which is the image of the 7 Lucky Gods on a Treasure ship. Also known as the Takarabune. It’s interesting looking up the image of the kite you receive in your box, so you can discover the history of kites design.
The last item we all received in January’s box is a Pikachu Bento box. We now have a matching set, as we received a pair of Pokémon chopsticks and a case in last November’s box. This super adorable bento box, features the iconic yellow mascot’s face on the front of the box.
Now if you are a regular subscriber, you will also receive a bonus item every few months. This is a very welcome surprise every time it happens and I have had my eye on this collection ever since it came out. The bonus item I received is a canvas tote bag from the Cardcaptor Sakura and Little Twin Stars collaboration that was released in August 2018. This bag features the iconic Cardcaptor Sakura in her new outfit from the Clear Card series and Kero. Both are drawn in the same design as Little Twin Stars siblings, Kiki & Lala. This bag even folds up into the inner pocket, into a very easily transportable size.
And that is a recap of January’s box, just five months late is all. Now I am still missing February’s box, so expect another recap review in the coming weeks as well as new reviews for all upcoming Nihon and SoKawaii boxes as they arrive. This box had a good array of goods, for both anime and food fans. As we get a plush, a figure, some traditional and iconic items as well. Such a good box and well worth buying if you can.
For more information on how you can order your own box, look to the top of this review and head over to the link below so you can sign up today!
