Japan’s super popular hamster-shaped monaka made into capsule toy form for all to enjoy

If you can’t eat ’em, wear ’em.

Remember the ultra-popular hamster-shaped monaka snacks being sold by the 120-year old Kyoto confectionary Aoki Kouetsudo? Even over a year after its initial release, it’s still constantly sold out. Now there’s a version of it with no expiration date! Japanese capsule toy company Tamakyu teamed up with Aoki Kouetsudo to create non-edible capsule toys shaped like the shop’s hamster-shaped snacks.

▼ Just in time for autumn, when hamsters will be stocking up on nuts for the winter!

These Hamster Monaka capsule toys, priced at 300 yen (US$2) each, went on sale October 28 and can be found in capsule toy machines across Japan. Each one comes with a nut-shaped brooch inside so that you can match your little buddy.

▼ Which style would you choose?

There are six varieties of the toy split into two styles: plain and chocolate. The only difference in the hamster’s appearance between the two styles are that the eyes and ears have been filled in with a “chocolate pen”–not edible, of course. The plain one, however, is the hamster that most closely resembles the edible hamster monaka.

▼ Are you more of an almond hamster or a cashew hamster?

Besides that, each hamster is holding either a walnut, a cashew, or an almond. You can pop open the hamster like an actual monaka, and inside there will be the included brooch. Use it to store other things as well–like some edible snacks, perhaps?

Tamakyu is holding a Twitter campaign, too! By following Tamakyu’s Twitter account retweeting the campaign Tweet linked below, you can be entered for a chance to win a complete set of the Monaka Hamster capsule toys. Entries will be accepted until November 4 at 5 p.m. (JST).

Sources: PR Times, Twitter/@TAMAKYU_CP
Images: PR Times

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