Pandamania Prolifigates.

Japan loves their pandas and I have to admit that what they do with the ursine creatures here is pretty cute. I finally acquired the 6th Panda stamp, so now I can blog about several of the pandas in my collection. The most recent acquisition are the oolong-cha pals.








Here are the bunch of them in all their pre-packaged glory.











As you can see, each of them has been named after a different snack and each packs a different saying.





First up is ゴマ団子 (goma-dango or sesame dumplings) declaring, "OK!"











Next is ちまき (chimaki which is a sweet cake wrapped in a rice leaf) telling you "よくできました" = "Yoku dekimashita" roughly translated as, "Good job!"








#3 is 桃まんじゅう (Momo-manju which in this case is a peach-flavoured manju with the obvious DATE.










Now we've got that perennial favourite, the マンゴープリン (mango pudding or purin as it's known here) exclaiming, おかえり "o-kaeri" which is, sort of, "Welcome home!"








My scan of 小籠包 (Shoronpo/ a Chinese-ravioli concoction) is not very good which is appropriate since the stamp proclaims, ごめんな = "gomen na" which means, "Sorry!"









Finally we have your basic 饅頭 (manju) stating ありがとう = "arigato" and if you don't know what that means, you shouldn't be reading this blog!










Way back when, I mentioned a certain Pandamodia with all sorts of pandas done up in different gear. Since then I've acquired a few more, but I'm sad to say I don't have complete sets. These guys may have been from that initial collection but I'll be darned if I can tell you where they're from. I do like the guy in the onsen and the mountain climber though.




Here are a quartet of pandas with a crab, a deer, an eel and a cat. I don't know if they are pets or meals!









Pandas are supposedly 99% vegetarian but this foursome is eating various dishes of the local cuisine. I don't think they adhering to their strict bamboo diet.









Based on the label, the direction of use or the website, I still couldn't figure out what these are. 生茶 translates as "Raw brown" so that isn't very useful.




I figured it out by the holes in the tops of their heads: they are salt & pepper shakers. I'm not sure why the pepper is crying or maybe it's a cop-killer!










I got a handful of these sports-playing pandas but I wasn't about to track down all 24, even I can't drink that much tea.









What I did get was #s 2, 4, 10, 13, 20 & 22. (Swimming, tennis, basketball, handball, shooting & baseball.) I wonder if they ever played against the Gachapin players?






Finally, I have a couple of pendants (pandants?) promoted by some Japanese celebrities that I don't know. I never completed these sets either yet I don't think I'll be the worse for wear.



More crap tomorrow!