“Night Matsuri”
Hello everyone and welcome back to another subscription box review. Today I will be taking an indepth look into what was included in July’s edition of Nihon Box. Which was filled to the brim, full of goodies you are sure to enjoy during those long summer days. So let’s get started with the usual info.
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.
Due to the latest European VAT legislation, the overall cost after shipping has increased slightly. The folks behind Nihon Box have done all they can to make this transition as simple as possible, so they have taken the necessary steps & changes in order to include the VAT directly in the subscription’s price. This change will normally be effective starting from the next renewal of your subscription, with the addition of the VAT in the final price (19% for Germany). And from August, as a small gift of appreciation to their overseas customers they will be including a 1000yen gift card to their YattaJapan.com store. As an idea of how much the charge has gone up, prior to August I was paying €32.89 a month. The new price I pay now is €40.45 a month, which is a nice increase but I believe the value is still there within the box.
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
The first item this month is a beautiful Hatsune Miku Summer Matsuri PVC statue from Taito, measuring 18cm tall. This very colorful figure has so much going on in its design, that celebrates those famous summer festivals we have all seen in Japanese anime. This hologram diva is wearing a red, yellow and blue short yukata, with images of fireworks on one of her arm sleeves. Her accessories include a kitsune mask on her head, as well as a uchiwa hand fan in one hand and a candy apple (ringo ame) in the other. She is sure to make a great addition to the figure collection, which is ever growing thanks to these subscription boxes. If you have missed out on getting this figure, then I suggest getting in contact with Leanne’s Anime over on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/leannesanime/
If you fancy mimicking Miku’s design and getting in the matsuri spirit, then you will certainly enjoy this small uchiwa matsuri fan. This accessory is perfect for the summer weather, it’s lightweight and portable. Allowing you to fan yourself with a slight cool breeze as you enjoy the summer, no matter where you are. This is a traditional hand fan that is still pretty popular and iconic to own today. At least you never have to worry about your small electric fan running out of power, when you own one of these.
Moving on, we have a serving tray, featuring the characters from ‘The Quintessential Quintuplets’. An anime that debuted from Tezuka Productions back in 2019. The series follows the daily life of a high school student Futaro Uesugi, who is hired as a private tutor for a group of identical quintuplets: Ichika, Nino, Miku, Yotsuba, and Itsuki Nakano. At the very beginning of the story, it is indicated Futaro will marry one of the Nakano Quintuplets but the identity of the bride is unknown until near the end of the story. The design on this tray is of the five sisters as they stand together in their yukatas, as fireworks explode behind their heads. This manga series has become very popular as of late, so I am sure there are a few fans of this series already that will be thrilled with this bit of unexpected merch.
Now what is the best function of a tray, other than putting snacks on it?! So our next item this month is an Azuki flavour Taiyaki. Which is a common sight at festival food stalls. This fish-shaped sweet pastry dessert has a large filling of red bean paste (azuki). However the outer pastry tasted more like soft ice cream wafers, perhaps that might have been the impact of a long journey across the globe. Either way, I would assume this would taste better fresh.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba returns once again in our Nihon Box, as we get a blind box from the Fuwakororin range. This series has six different character designs, all appearing as a mini round plush. The one I received is our lead man – Tanjiro.
And now we get to our final item for Julys’ box, which is an Assassination Classroom towel. Why you may ask? A tad random maybe? Well Japan is damn HOT in the Summer, even during the matsuri festivals. So a towel is always essential to have on hand, especially for those that may be working and performing during these festivals. This ‘mini towel’, although pretty large in my opinion as you can see above as I hung it up on a door for size comparison. It’s bright yellow in color, with Koro Sensei’s face in the middle, with the shows title at the bottom of the towel.
So there we have it everyone, that was July’s Nihon Box. Did you like it? If so, comment down below or tag us on our social media to let us know what was your favourite item and if you have gotten your own subscription. Nihon Box always does their best to follow the latest anime trends as well as finding items from fan favorite shows in order to always appeal to their customer base. With items from Demon Slayer, Assassination Classoom and The Quintessential Quintuplets, to the worlds favourite hologram diva – Hatsune Miku. They not only source out some decent quality figures and plushies, but also to make sure that each month their box represents another unique aspect of Japan – from its food, to its culture, art, history and beliefs. It’s a well rounded box, for both anime and cultural fans. This box’s theme was “Night Matsuri”, and each pamphlet in every box also includes a detailed section called “Discover Japan”. This month’s topic was about Natsu Matsuri, as they give a detailed description of the many types of matsuri festivals that take place around Japan. Mentioning their origins and the importance of these to local communities. It’s details such as these that make this subscription box so unique and talked about.
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!