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Jan 11, 2006

Paku! Paku!

Apparently, there is a tradition in Japan of photographing this particular toy Panda—and sharing the photos online here. Of course we had to share too.

Posted by Meg on January 11, 2006 in Product Cuteness | Permalink

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I saw these pandas when I was in Japan last but these pics are hilarious and adorable!: Vic; | Jan 11, 2006 at 11:55 PM

I love the ones going down the steps.: Silverfish; | Jan 12, 2006 at 12:16 AM

Haha, awesome pics! Made me warm ^^: Per; | Jan 12, 2006 at 01:41 AM

Oh my gosh they are so cute.. i wish i could find one of those to buy.. couldnt even find one on ebay :( :(: Laura; | Jan 12, 2006 at 04:20 AM

What are those panda toys called?? i want one!: Caroline; | Jan 12, 2006 at 06:17 AM

Those look like PacMan disguised as a Panda /just saying: Fluffy; | Jan 12, 2006 at 06:22 AM

This kind of reminds me of that Flat Stanley craze [is that still going on] where people take a flat Stanley and photograph him all over.: Bubbles; | Jan 12, 2006 at 06:24 AM

does anyone know where i can buy one of these pandas?: Char; | Jan 12, 2006 at 06:26 AM

I accedently chewed the leg off of Flat Stanley when he came to visit.... I love the shot of the panda face in the clouds... is it photoshopped?: Norty; | Jan 12, 2006 at 06:48 AM

Norty -- good eye, I didn't catch that when I looked. It doesn't look shopped to me.: Theo; | Jan 12, 2006 at 07:51 AM

Ahh! Another post of the non-sentient where the items really got me squeeing. I LOVE the pic on the stairs as well as with the Statue of Liberty.: Beauregard; | Jan 12, 2006 at 08:15 AM

Is it just me or are the 2 pandas squashed inside the bag a tad disturbing?: Dustbunny; | Jan 12, 2006 at 08:18 AM

i have been searching for SO LONG to get one of those guys. the person who imports them will make a fortune! (these are puppets from the Arumado pastry store btw): ereed; | Jan 12, 2006 at 10:08 AM

That is some of the funniest stuff I've seen in ages. I love the shots of the bears looking at the duck, or with the sky in the background. Brilliant. And that one found the Statue of Liberty jaw-dropping? Fabulous.: Trish; | Jan 12, 2006 at 11:09 AM

i like the piknic and the stairs best =D: Bouncycat; | Jan 12, 2006 at 11:22 AM

I think I need a Paku!Paku! army of my own. If anybody finds out how to get them in the US, let me know!: Sarah; | Jan 12, 2006 at 11:26 AM

Has anyone emailed the author of the site? Maybe he/she can make some money by selling all of us Pakupakus of our very own! Aparently it is the mascot of a Japanese bakery (at least from what I can see from my research) where they make all sorts of panda head shaped baked goods.: Kate; | Jan 12, 2006 at 02:21 PM

Hi Kate, I'm one of the authors of the site, and I would love to find a place that sells the little PakuPaku... I will check on it and post back! -Meg: Meg; | Jan 12, 2006 at 02:39 PM

I've asked 2 Japanese friends, and they found the puppet on "the Japanese equivalent to Amazon" Here: http://www.rakuten.co.jp/azuazu/515496/515497/ HOWEVER, they only take Japanese 'paypal' type payments, where you put money into a Japanese account, no foreign credit cards. Anyone else have any luck?: Meg; | Jan 12, 2006 at 02:56 PM

Google came up with http://www.jlist.com/ but I don't have the patience to scroll through the entire site for cute pandas : P They say they'll respond to requests, so maybe if enough people email them, they'll start carrying Paku Pakus.: Dustbunny; | Jan 12, 2006 at 03:13 PM

Apparently PakuPaku means to open and close or flap. Hehe! Very fitting.: Ashley; | Jan 12, 2006 at 03:27 PM

More photos, but nothing for sale... http://bidders.auction.biglobe.ne.jp/item/56159056 www.rakuten.co.jp/ hitparade/549204/531909/: Meg; | Jan 12, 2006 at 03:45 PM

Awww those look good!: cario; | Jan 12, 2006 at 04:36 PM

Of course they'd hide in the camera bag. It's all part of their plot.: Jonn; | Jan 12, 2006 at 06:35 PM

I made a request for http://j-list.com to start offering them. Hopefully if enough of us request it, they will!: kelly; | Jan 12, 2006 at 07:59 PM

If these guys are a bakery's mascot...then I'll take a baker's dozen!! So cute, I can see hours of fun with these guys :D: Andrea; | Jan 12, 2006 at 08:56 PM

Those are some well-traveled pandas! And I want a Paku, too.: CrackerLilo; | Jan 12, 2006 at 09:15 PM

There are two versions of the panda puppet. The one in the links above are the original which came from a TV ad campaign in Japan. The panda got so popular that someone decided to make a knock off and put them in UFO machines as prizes ("UFO machines" in Japan are those machines that you pay money to operate a crane to try and grab and retrieve a stuffed toy from). *Those pandas are the ones we see in the paku paku pictures. Unfortunately, as is the trend with prizes from UFO machines, you can't actually buy the stuffed toy you have to win them. That's why it's really hard to find the pandas online. Also, prize fads come and go in Japan like the setting of the sun so as far as I know the pandas are no longer being stocked in the machines. (The cream puff store capitalized on the popularity of the panda and made it its mascot.) So there you have the history of the paku panda. =) I placed a few phone calls to friends there to hunt out any remaining pandas. (I want one too now) I'll keep you guys posted.: Vic; | Jan 13, 2006 at 03:44 AM

They have *cream puff* stores in Japan?? That's it, I"m packing my bags for Tokyo. Now. I'll try and bring back some stuffed pandas too.: Dustbunny; | Jan 13, 2006 at 07:23 AM

"Cream puffs rise to meet new demand ; Sweet pastry touted as 'next big thing" By Bruce Horovitz, USA TODAY Mon Jun 13, 6:50 AM ET A nation of allegedly nutrition-conscious consumers has some serious explaining to do: The cream puff is making a comeback. Two competing Japanese chains - both new to the U.S. market - are selling fresh, hot cream puffs like, ah, hot cakes. Other big names are starting to peddle cream puffs via mail order. Even Bon Appetit magazine has pegged the cream puff - a puff pastry with flavored cream filling - as the hot dessert for 2005. "We all talk a good game, but less than 2% of us are actually eating what the Food Pyramid tells us to," says Tanya Wenman Steel, New York editor at Bon Appetit. Watch out, Krispy Kreme, she says, "cream puffs will be the next big thing." The biggest driver: America's irrepressible sweet tooth. Helping is marketing machinery pitching the puff - now about as popular in Japan as doughnuts are here - as an American institution. Even in an era of better-for-you dining, the cream puff's clearly no cream puff. At a handful of Manhattan locations, customers lured by the smell of fresh-baked puffs willingly wait in long lines that snake outside Beard Papa's Sweets Cafes to pay $1.45 for one of the chain's trademark vanilla cream puffs. Each oozes about 230 calories - about 30 calories more than a Krispy Kreme glazed donut. But unlike donuts, the cream puffs are baked, not fried. The filling is a whipped-cream-and-custard combo. The company, already a success in Japan, plans to open another 20 U.S. units domestically during the next year - including in Hollywood and San Francisco. Some stores sell 5,000 cream puffs a day, though sales here have lagged for one variety - the green tea-flavored cream puffs, admits Craig Takiguchi, executive vice president of Muginoho USA, parent company of the chain. "The funniest thing," Takiguchi says, "is seeing shoppers who leave our store with cream and powdered sugar all over their face.": teapot; | Jan 13, 2006 at 08:03 AM

how i wish those pics come in wallpaper size... T-T: zy; | Jan 13, 2006 at 09:26 AM

Mmmmm....creampuffs. Sadly, those stores haven't made it to the west coast yet : (: Dustbunny; | Jan 13, 2006 at 11:10 AM

Ooh I want one! I want one! I've made a request on Jlist too! Those pandas are sooo bad--I feel like one of those spoiled brats that wants something I can't get!! :D: Starprint; | Jan 13, 2006 at 02:11 PM

blargh!! my head just exploded... i must have one of these: sandy; | Jan 13, 2006 at 04:28 PM

aw, they remind me of muppets. if only real pandas can multiply just as fast as these cuties.: adrianna; | Jan 13, 2006 at 05:59 PM

Thank you for coming to and enjoying our WEB site. It looks Pandas are very happy. ↓How to get Puppet Panda… It is being sold at Arumado's cream puff shop in Harajuku, Tokyo. Unfortunately, they don't ship it to overseas. If you have a Japanese friend or a frined who lives in Japan, I think he/she may be able to help you. Thank you. Here is Arumado shop URL http://www.arumado.co.jp/: ludmilla; | Jan 14, 2006 at 05:17 PM

i like pandas.: dark_moonlight; | Jan 14, 2006 at 07:23 PM

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh fire on the poopdeck.: dark_moonlight; | Jan 14, 2006 at 09:03 PM

Well I can see why Dark_Moonlight said that.hehehe...well the panda looks fake because it's a stuffed panda instead of a real panda.It would be cuter than a fake panda.: I_Yoyo; | Jan 14, 2006 at 10:46 PM

O.K. a bit cute and creepy: alayniekat; | Jan 15, 2006 at 04:31 AM

My friend lives in Japan and he says what the website sells is actually a promotional package of some sort that MIGHT have a panda in it. Apparently they only sell them at one shop in Harajuku. Wooohooo me! He's going to try and head there this weekend and snag me one. He's cameraphone happy too so hopefully I'll have my own panda album by the time it reaches me!: Crystal; | Jan 20, 2006 at 08:08 PM

hi there! wow!it's "Nama-cha panda" of Japanese beverage company's image mascot. you guys can see "Nama-cha panda" here. http://www.beverage.co.jp/product/cm/namacya/index.html#eco and you guys can get note pad,screen saver and mouse poimter at here! http://www.beverage.co.jp/pecology/download.html I hope you guys enjoy them. Takako~from Japan *(>_^)b: takako; | Jan 27, 2006 at 09:02 AM

I am travelling to Tokyo March 24, how many Pandas do you want me to buy? :): Joakim; | Jan 31, 2006 at 11:03 AM

I love all the pictures! But where can I buy a panda like that?! I really want one! /Mira: Mira; | Feb 09, 2006 at 02:05 PM

Joakim, are you from sweden as well? maybe you can buy one for me, I'll pay you!! /mira: mira; | Feb 09, 2006 at 02:08 PM

Please find a way to get these pandas! I will bid on ebay!: becco; | Feb 17, 2006 at 08:04 PM

hi.. I've been making a huge effort to find these pandas online for some time now and just found this posting area. Here is some info: http://berdwin.googlepages.com/panda if the page doesn't load, keep refreshing: pcberdwin; | Feb 26, 2006 at 08:09 PM

HEY!! I got a panda!! I found one at random on this ebay store: http://stores.ebay.com/Magical-Girls-Anime-Doujinshi-Shop they don't always have one but check every week because they get new stuff. w00000t!!!! ^^: pcberdwin; | Mar 15, 2006 at 03:55 PM

Yes Mira, actually I am swedish :). but as it turned out, the Arumado cream puff shop only have keyring pandas that doesnt look good at all, therefor I didnt buy any :(. I might try at ebay though :), I post here if I get some from there.: Joakim; | Apr 20, 2006 at 11:29 AM

I want a pako to!: graycie alaina jarboe; | Aug 13, 2006 at 01:42 PM

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Jan 11, 2006

Paku! Paku!

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