Dafune Rabbit – Cotton Candy

While having an hour to spare in Shizuoka prefecture’s Hamamatsu City yesterday I found this little bag of cotton candy in a great little wagashiya (Japanese old fashioned candy shop) in one of the few remaining central city shopping areas. I just had to buy it! I dare anyone to find cuter candy packaging! Although new to me, it has been around for a few years and it seems this little rabbit called “Dafune” (I think they meant to say the classic greek name Daphne, but that’s just my hunch) is modeled after the creator’s real life pet. There’s a whole range of animations, candy, cookies and books with this character out but this was the only one I could find. How did it taste? Well, like typical store bought cotton cady, with a slight hint of strawberry – delicious! Dafune the rabbit has a sort of home page here. There’s also a very peculiar video featuring Dafune’s parents, birth, shipment to Japan and… well, it ends there and I have no idea what it is supposed to say. Still, this is easily the cutest thing I have seen in a long time!

It’s the Year Of the Rabbit

It’s the year of the rabbit so naturally, I can’t help but unleash these photos of bunny cuteness upon you! Don’t worry, I’ll be back tomorrow with some “harder” images, least you think I have gone all soft on you in this cold winter! These little fellows came up to me while visiting Oshima, last year. Enjoy!

Misato Kaneko – Zodiac Rabbit

I found this statue at the National Art Center in Roppongi. It’s called Usatoraion (うさとらいおん) by Misato Kaneko (金子美里), a young artist from Joshibi University (女子美術大学). The title is a reference to the Japanese (or Chinese) zodiac, of which the rabbit is a member. The cog wheel like construction is actually the different animals in the zodiac, each individually constructed. Once again Japanese artists prove that the national virtue of patience. It seems that rabbit are in vogue right now, as well. Enjoy!