The main place in Funabashi that I wanted to go to!
Not for sale items at Funabashi's Funassyiland!
Among the Funassyi memorabilia on display are items from
When I visited Japan this past May, I made sure -- as I've always done so each time that I've visited Tokyo -- to go to the Kiddy Land flagship store in Harajuku. But whereas on previous visits, I would make a beeline for the Studio Ghibli section to look for Totoros and Ponyos, the establishment in recent years of branches of Studio Ghibli's Donguri Republic character shops in Hong Kong has made them easier to come by here. So, instead, it was Funassyi items that I focused on getting my hands on as paraphenalia featuring the mainly yellow and blue gotouchi chara from Funabashi are still on the rare side in the Fragrant Harbour (despite The Pear having been to this part of the world, including this past July)!
Despite a good bulk of the ground floor of Harajuku's Kiddy Land now housing the Funnasyiland Select store-within-a-store, I came away from my visit wanting to see -- and get myself -- still more Funassyi items! And even while I did manage to add to my Funassyi haul by doing such as a getting a Funassyi t-shirt from a branch of Shimamura over in Nagano and a Funassyi charm at Narita International Airport (which, despite serving Tokyo, is actually located in the same prefecture as Funabashi), I hankered to get still more by visiting a larger Funassyiland on my next visit to Japan.
As might be expected, the largest Funassyiland of all is located in Funassyi's hometown of Funabashi. And while my party didn't head straight there upon arriving in Funabashi (but, instead, went and fortified ourselves first with a bowl of the Pear's favorite sauce ramen), there was no way we would not be spending a significant amount of time at the flagship store located within the LaLaPort Tokyo Bay megamall which the "Boss Pear" can be seen prancing about in one of its music videos!
While my mother went and explored other sections of the mall, my fellow Funatomo friend and I set about checking out both the items available for sale and that were not for sale at Funassyiland. I think on account of it being the first Funassyiland she had ever visited, my friend looked to have been overwhelmed by the amount and variety of Funassyi items on view (which, more than by the way, included packets of instant sauce ramen with Funassyi's visage on it!).
I, on the other hand, have to admit to wishing that the store was larger still, and had a greater choice of Funassyi items for me to choose from! (Among other things, I wish there had been a better choice of Funassyi t-shirts and sweatshirts, and also would have loved to come by such as a Funassyi-themed mousepad.) Even so, I have to say that I was not unhappy with my haul which included: a 2017 Funassyi desktop calendar, a copy of the Funa Metal Rock CD and -- woohoo! -- a 50cm Funassyi plush which is super soft as well as absolutely kawaii and comes complete with such details as its own name tag and "Illusion" (neither of which the Sleeping Bag Funassyi I got first -- and still do also love -- possesses)! ;b
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