‘Aki no Kizuna – The Fall Bonds’
Hello everyone and welcome back to another Nihon Box review, where today I take a look at what was included in November’s box. So sit back and enjoy this Autumn season themed box. But first, a quick word about Nihon Box. The Anime and Japanese culture subscription box, with details on how you can sign up for your very own subscription.
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 monthly, just keep reading along to see just how affordable it can be.
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 of this year, 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. Now once it arrived in Ireland, I have been charged customs through An Post. Totalling just under €9euro the first month, with this particular box being around the €10 mark on top of the €40.45 I pay each month, making this a rather expensive price hike in the end. However this is all due to inflation and the recent customs changes within the EU, whilst Nihon Box is still cramming in as much value into the box as possible from their side.
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
So let’s get started with the first item from November’s box, with this beautiful ‘Aki in Japan’ furoshiki. This piece of fabric is traditionally used to wrap up your bento or a gift, which is very eco friendly due to its reusability. Personally I will be using this as a decorative piece, although I haven’t decided how to as of yet. This particular furoshiki was made in collaboration with a professional craftsman in Kyoto, who has been doing this for the past fifty years. The design is based off of an Autumn scene featuring Mount Fuji in the background of a shrine.
Our next item this month is for all you Inuyasha fans out there, with this Sesshómaru noodle stopper figure. This boy has a bit of weight to him, that keeps him perfectly balanced when sitting on the edge of a shelf or indeed a Cup Ramen. This series of noodle stopper figures always have such unique poses, this one is no different. It’s well crafted, skillfully designed and indeed well painted. It can join my other Inuyasha noodle stopper on the shelf, which was included in September’s Nihon Box from 2020.
We now move onto a slightly more recent anime franchise, with Haikyuu! This series follows a high school volleyball team as they compete in local matches, all the way up to nationals in order to repair their reputation with the assistance of a pair of talented new players. This series has a massive fanbase and Nihon Box has included it in this box with a Hug Chara Collection figure. This series of small plushies, are very cute but also useful. As within the arms will be a strong bull clip, which you can open and close by using the legs. With six characters to collect, every box will receive the main character of Shóyó Hinata.
We now move on to yet another Shonen Jump franchise with Hunter x Hunter. This franchise first began back in 1998 but has been on hiatus since 2018, but still carries a strong fan base. Due to this, it has been included with this Figurine Fuchipito collection from Re-Ment. With six characters to collect, these small detailed figures each have their unique pose and sit on top of a wooden box. Like the Noodle Stopper series, they are also designed to sit on the edge of shelves, die to how well they are balanced.
Our snack item for this month is the Kurobou Meimon. A traditional sweet and specialty of the city of Kurume, from the Fukuoka prefecture. Made from brown sugar, it carries its own unique taste that is unlike anything I have tried here in Ireland. It may not be for everyone’s palette, as I didn’t find myself going back very quickly to finish the second one in the package.
So let’s begin with the item on the left, which is a loyalty item bonus that you receive several times during the year when you have a continuous subscription. It is always a delight to see what might be included for free every quarter. This time, it was a small keychain plush from the FairyTail and Mameshiba collab, but I can not seem to find when this is from so it may be an old release. It’s an interesting item no doubt and a collaboration I never would have put together, but it kind of works. It’s cute, right?!
On the right, is our new regular to every Nihon Box – a 1000 Yen gift card for their side company ‘Yatta Japan’. This time, the gift card is valid until next Summer. However at the moment, it doesn’t appear to be a good time ordering from their website as the delivery option pricing is through the roof! At least for Ireland it is, no way I want to pay over €40 in shipping for items that barely come to €20. Fingers crossed they manage to sort this out in the new year, as I would prefer some economy shipping at least.
Our last anime related item of the box is the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba item pictured above. Which is known as an Eco Kairo in Japan, otherwise known as a reusable pocket hand warmer. I have not seen these items in years, not since I was in school. There is a gel inside that heats up as soon as a metal tab inside is broken, it just causes a chain reaction. In order to reuse it again, you just place it inside a kitchen cloth and then in boiling water. Within five minutes it will have returned to its original state, ready to be used again. Perfect for the current cold season. This is available in 10 character designs, all with their own unique backgrounds. Also in time for the latest season of Demon Slayer, which has just started airing over on Funimation And Crunchyroll.
And now onto our final item this month, with these Ukiyo-e coasters. This is a set of four coasters, traditionally made with washi paper. They feature images from four of the most famous Ukiyo-e paintings, including Kabuki (by Kunisada Utagawa), Meisho Hakkei (by Toyokuni Utagawa), Aka Fuji (by Hokusai Katsushika) and Two Women ( by Kitagawa Utamaro). All made by a company that has been specializing in washi paper for over 90 years. It is a shame however that neither the name of the company or any links to their work is never listed in the brochure. Hopefully they can add this information for future boxes.
So there we have it everyone, that was November’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 Haikyuu, Demon Slayer, Hunter x Hunter and Inuyasha. They not only source out some decent quality figures and plushies, but they also 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 “Aki no Kizuna”, and each pamphlet in every box also includes a detailed section called “Discover Japan”. This month’s topic was about Momijigari, the hunt for Autumn. Where people go out of their way, to forests, mountains and even different prefectures in order to admire the changing of the leaves colors during Fall. It is also the perfect time to go out on a hike, as the Autumn brings a much needed break from the scorching Summer heat that Japan is known for. 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!
