Miffed.

Sad to report the passing of Dick Bruna, the creator of Miffy, who died at the age of 89. Just the other day, I picked up four Miffy "kitchen clips" since they were freebies when I bought a drink.

Four different colours and six different animals make up 24 different clips. I don't think I need that many clips.

   

Other recent premiums I've acquired include these cute erasers

and these Idol characters that hang on one's cup. Too bad I didn't get the whole set.

Often when one buys four or more drinks, one also gets another gift. In this case, I got an Idolmaster Clear File and mini-towel, because one can never have enough Clear Files or towels.

 

In another case, I landed a One Piece calendar and tablecloth.

   

Hmm. I wonder what the Supermarket has in store for me next month???

Oh Make Omake!

おまけ or Omake or those little hunks of shaped plastic that are attached to PET bottles of pop or cans of coffee are my Achilles heel. Rather than an arrow to the ankle though this particular weakness is the tendency to see a bottle in the conbini and if it has an attachment I simply must buy it! Stop me before I shop again...

What's worse, I don't necessarily want the particular item but if it's a choice between a drink with omake and one without, I choose the little plastic piece of crap. For example, here are some little doodads that will end up as Christmas stocking gifts.

I mean Fred Perry Bearbricks and some Japanese Space Comedy movie?
These have a little more use to them: mini-hankies, a business card holder, Smart phone pens, pouches & a stand.

Not useful but still very cool would be these James Bond vehicles or Lupin figures that came with cans of coffee. I don't particularly enjoy coffee but my addiction is such that I still have to get them.

Equally cool and also useful are these memo pads featuring several characters. I'm sure I have a full set of these figures but I can only find 3 of them. 

Why I got the AKB straps, the mini-clear file or the Moomin puzzle, Rirakuma bottle opener or Miffy clip is anyone's guess.

What's most frustrating is when I don't get a complete set of something even though I've bought several of them. Case in point, the Kikuman Wrestling Bearbricks, the Dragonquest characters, Mario Brothers straps, etc.

Just when I thought I could give up, out comes some Olympic badges and Pikachu mini-spinning tops!

I'll keep you posted once I complete the sets!

Hill eBeans!

Today was the grand reopening of Sendai's most eclectic Department Store complex, eBeans. It was severely damaged in the quake and has undergone a facelift nip & tuck so that the front-most part has lost 6 floors!

I wandered through the front four floors and the back ten floors today and though the back ten has barely changed, the front four have undergone a major revamp.

Let me show you a few pictures of the second floor, some of which are rather odd.

Gone are all the trendy fashion stores selling overpriced garb for young gals and in their place are trendy boutiques selling overpriced items from Ghibli, Monchichi and Miffy! The first floor and basement have been earmarked for fashion but all but two stores won't be open until December 3rd.

Mysteriously, a menagerie of metallic monsters has menaced the main mezzanine!

Apart from an Italian Tomato and a few cafes, there few places to dine so I had Takoyaki (Octopus balls) for lunch!

There were several walls featuring art from birds to cats to 3D Gorillas!

That's about it for the second floor. It's time for bed but hopefully I can return to showcase more of eBeans, the magical fruit!