Studio Ghibli releases new Kiki’s Delivery Service collection with Jiji as the star

Watercolour design recalls the talents of painter Ursula from the anime film.

Studio Ghibli’s 1989 film Kiki’s Delivery Service is all about a young witch stepping into her powers, but for many fans the titular star’s popularity is often eclipsed by her co-star, a talking black cat called Jiji. This cheeky feline adds charm and humour to the storyline, and now he’s bringing that same sense of whimsy to a new “Kiki’s Delivery Service Watercolour Flower” collection.

There are five products to collect in the range, and each one features a design that looks like it’s been finished in pastel watercolours, perhaps by painter Ursula, who also appears in the film.

The series begins with the Square Pouch (2,860 yen [US$20.11]), which is the perfect size for carrying makeup and accessories.

The soft color scheme on the outside of the pouch contrasts with the inner fabric, which uses a Kiki’s Delivery Service-inspired bordeaux hue to create a sophisticated, adult aesthetic.

▼ Inner pockets help to keep things neat…

▼…and it zips up securely with Kiki on the zipper pull.

▼ Next up, we have the Tissue Pouch (2,420 yen).

With a convenient front opening, this is a handy way to keep your tissues clean and easily accessible.

In addition to holding small tissue packs, the pouch has a zip section for carrying small essentials like medicine and lip balm.

▼ Now we move on to the Slim Pouch (2,420 yen).

The length of this product gives it extra versatility, so you can use it to store pens, brushes, combs, and long cosmetics items like mascara.

▼ Next, we have the Mirror (2,860 yen).

The convenient folded design makes this mirror convenient to store and carry, so you can use it at home or on the go.

▼ Finally, we have the Pass Case (3,080 yen).

Designed to hold travel cards and passes, this case comes with five pockets in total so you can store a lot within its slim shape.

Perhaps the sweetest element of the design is the gorgeous reel that attaches to the case, allowing you to keep it secure and easy to use when rushing to board public transport.

The collection is a beautiful homage to Kiki’s Delivery Service and the sweet black cat who’s so beloved by fans, and it can be purchased at Donguri Kyowakoku stores and online (links below) while stocks last.

Source: Donguri Kyowakoku
Top image: Donguri Kyowakoku
Insert images: Donguri Kyowakoku (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
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Super Mario T-shirts make an encore appearance at Uniqlo as part of UT Archives【Photos】

Uniqlo brings back a selection of their greatest Mario T-shirt hits.

There’s no other video game series with the evergreen entertainment value of Super Mario Bros. 40 years after Nintendo’s mascot had his first Super-class adventure, nearly every mainline game in the franchise is just as fun to play today as it was at its initial release.

And just like how the Super Mario games remain awesome years later, so too do Uniqlo’s Super Mario T-shirts, which is why the casual clothing chain is bringing back a half-dozen designs for an encore. Originally released in 2019 and 2020 as part of Uniqlo’s UT graphic T-shirt sub-brand’s Super Mario 40th anniversary celebration, they’re being offered once again as part of the chain’s UT Archive catalog.

The designs are a mix of pixel art and hand-drawn illustrations, starting with this navy blue shirt showing the very first Warp Zone from the very first Super Mario Bros.

▼ Though why this Mario is modestly choosing to skip just one level ahead, instead of jumping all the way to World 4, is a mystery.

Also using graphical assets from the franchise’s first game is this invitingly pink piece in which Mario suffers the indignity of not only being killed by a lowly Goomba, but in it resulting in a game over.

A few of the designs have artwork on both the front and back, like this one with a pair of Boos on the chest pocket…

…and one more at the hem around back.

▼ The stitching style adds to the retro pixel aesthetic.

The lineup also includes a pair of salutes to the most successful of the many Super Mario spinoffs, Mario Kart.

The more understated of the two has Mario, having spin his kart into a body of water, being airlifted out by Lakitu.

▼ He actually doesn’t look too happy about it, but maybe that’s because Mario is his boss Bowser’s sworn enemy.

The other Mario Kart shirt is much bolder, with fluorescent-hue profiles of the racers and the question “Who’s gonna win?”

Interestingly, this grid is a combination of the character lineups from the SNES Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart 64. The two games’ rosters almost entirely overlap, but Super Mario Kart’s Koopa Troopa was replaced by Wario in 64.

And last, we come to the Yoshi T-shirt, which spells out the “Wahooo!” we all say in our hearts when Mario’s dino pal/steed shows up.

The shirts are priced at 1,500 yen (US$10.40) each. The whole line is available through Uniqlo’s online store here for immediate shipping, so you can have yours ready to wear by the time Nintendo launches the Switch 2 in June.

Source: Uniqlo via Nijimen
Top image: Uniqlo
Insert images: Uniqlo (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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Japan’s 160-year-old Great Wisteria of Tochigi is now in full bloom, ready for visitors【Photos】

You don’t get this beautiful in a day, and Ashikaga Flower Park has two other types of flowers also looking their best.

Few countries have seasonal swings quite so dramatic as Japan’s, where midwinter can be mercilessly cold and midsummer brutally hot. Getting from one extreme to the other, means, of course, that Japan’s experiences everything in between in the interceding months, and that means that there’s almost always a new set of flowers set to burst into bloom…and sometimes three different sets all at once.

That’s the situation right now at Ashikaga Flower Park in the town of Ashikaga, Tochigi Prefecture. The most dramatic of the in-bloom floral trio are the wisteria, or fuji, as they’re called in Japanese. The park has more than 350 wisteria trees, but if you’re wondering how many of them are needed to create the breathtaking canopy seen in the photos above and below, it’s only one.

This amazing tree is Ashikaga Flower Park’s Great Wisteria, whose branches spread out over an area of over 1,000 square meters (10,764 square feet). And if you’re thinking it must take a long time for a single tree to get that big, you’re exactly right, as the Great Wisteria is more than 160 years old.

Because of how beautiful Ashikaga Flower Park’s wisteria are, the facility stays open after dark at this time of year, with the contrast between the illuminated blossoms ad the black sky giving them a dramatic atmosphere different from the softer colors of the day.

▼ If those flowers beyond the Great Wisteria have caught your eye, we’ll get to them in a minute.

As mentioned above, though, there are hundreds of other wisteria trees at the park, including an 80-meter tunnel of white wisteria flanking a footpath.

And while it may not quite match the size or age of the Great Wisteria, the Yae Kokuryu Fuji is no slouch in the looks department either.

Ah, but we said there are three types of flowers reaching full bloom, right? Next on the list are the azaleas, which we caught a glimpse of behind the Great Wisteria in that earlier photo…

As with the wisteria, the park’s azaleas have a variety of colors, and are positioned in a way that lets you line up both types of blossoms in the same shot.

And rounding out the trio are the laburnum flowers, also known as golden chain or golden rain.

Tochigi doesn’t get as many international visitors as the prefectures along the typical tourism Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka “golden route,” but Ashikaga Flower Park is a pretty easily doable day trip from Tokyo. Starting from several of the capital’s major train stations (Tokyo, Ueno, Shinjuku, and Ikebukuro) you can make it to Ashikaga Flower Park Station on JR East’s Ryomo Line in just a little over two hours. From there it’s only a three-minute walk to the park entrance, and with the park open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. between now and May 6, and 8 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. May 7-18, there’s plenty of time to make it there and back regardless of whether you’re a morning person or a night owl.

Location information
Ashikaga Flower Park / あしかがフラワーパーク
Address: Tochigi-ken, Ashikaga-shi, Hasama-cho 607
栃木県足利市迫間町６０７
Admission prices and operating hours vary by date
Website

Source: PR Times, Ashikaga Flower Park
Images: PR Times
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