If a toy is cool and trendy, chances are good that it comes from Japan. A lot of people think that Japanese toys are going to fall out of favor — after all, this is a global society now, and it’s not like China isn’t cranking out hits. However, there’s something special about the culture of technology that you’ll find in Japan. If you’re thinking about going to really have a good time, you can’t skip over Japan at all — not when it comes to high tech toys.
Check out 7 cool toys from Japan, and then tell us that you’re not interested in any of them. Go on, we actually dare you to take it there with us.
1. A Pregnant Doll!
OK, this has to be one of the most bizarre toys from Japan that we’ve seen in a long time. It’s a toy that definitely seems to defy everything that we know about toys, because this just doesn’t seem interesting to us at all. Maybe this might be something your health teacher picks up to scare you into using a condom or, better yet — to never have sex. Ever.
Actually, if you want the truth, these dolls are from the 18th and 19th centuries. They were used to “satisfy a deep curiosity for the mysteries of life”. Yeeeeah. OK.
2. Tuttuki Bako!
This is a toy from Japan that lets you stick your finger into the hole on the side and interact with a strange and unique world. OK, it’s not one of the most interesting that we’ve seen, but we can see how people would want to play with this for a while.
3. An Edamame Keychain?
How cute is this? It’s a little edamame keychain! Look at the vibrant green! I can just imagine cute little Japanese schoolgirls using this keychain — as they merrily skip from side to side. OK, maybe we’ve been watching too much anime around the office…
What’s neat about this keychain is that the little popping edamame actually do pop in and out of their little pod — all three of them. It’s definitely cute, and it’s something to just pick up your spirits.
4. Blushing H-Bouya Toy!
H-anime fans, you probably recognize this symbol: the blushing boy. You remember it well — every time a boy in an anime sees a girl’s panties, he blushes and he often gets a nosebleed. Don’t ask us why this happens or why the culture is shaped around this — but hey, it gives us a chance for upskirt moments, and we’re pretty much okay with that.
What’s neat about the H-Bouya! toy is that when it’s plugged into the USB port and you hit the ‘H’ key on the keyboard, the boy’s face turns red and his eyes blink. How cute!
5. Shaving Baby?
This is one of those strange toys that make you hit your head on the desk. What is this….I can’t even… yes, we’ve been there with many strange things on the interwebs.
This creepy baby is covered with bright orange hair in strategic places, as a way of signaling to you that you can indeed shave the baby. Really, you can shave the baby. And that’s scary. Really scary.
Now, this is actually an art object by a famous artist — but still, we can imagine people giving this toy to their children…and that’s kinda scary too. Anything that you can shave that is connected to a baby doll…is a little weird.
6. Robot Cat for the Win!
Everybody likes robot kitty. It’s a toy that has touch sensors that will actually let it respond as you do…well, the things that you would normally do with a cat. You can pet it, you can rub its belly, and it will even sleepy next to you at night. It’s called the Yume-Neko Venus in Japan (Dream Cat Venus). Some people find it a little disturbing, but we think it’s really cool!
7. Action Figure Obama!
Now if you really want strange, here’s one for the ages — an action figure President Obama. In true action figure design, he can be moved into a variety of different hero poses, which is pretty neat — and a little creepy. I mean, do you really want to imagine the leader of the United States rolling into a fighting stance.
The funny thing is that President Obama is so buff that he probably could kick some villain butt — we wouldn’t put it past him.
Overall, this caps our list of the crazy toys from Japan. Some are crazier than others, and others are just downright cool. We even threw in some cuteness there for you — aren’t we nice? Anyway, if there’s something that we missed, feel free to sound off in the comments!