Chiikawa Happy Meal toys return as McDonald’s Japan asks customers “please don’t buy too many”
McDonald’s Japan has announced the imminent release of the second exciting wave of Happy Meal toys, featuring collaborations with Chiikawa and Minecraft: The Movie.
After the first wave of toys sold out in just 3 days, fans looking to get hold of the second wave looked to McDonald’s to implement a hard limit on the number of Happy Meals customers could order to prevent widespread reselling activity that plagued the initial release.
McDonald’s Japan has now issued a statement regarding the upcoming second wave, however fans have been left disappointed as McDonald’s approach appears to assume that simply asking scalpers not to buy too many toys will do the trick.
The first wave of toys, based on Minecraft and Chiikawa in particular, sold out in record time.
Minecraft is the best-selling video game of all time and has captivated millions with its blocky, open-world sandbox environment, allowing players to build, explore and create virtually anything they can imagine.
The live-action film adaptation has brought the pixelated world to the big screen with a star-studded cast.
Chiikawa on the other hand, is a Japanese character series created by illustrator Nagano, known for its adorable yet often poignant comic strips shared widely on social media.
The popularity of the Chiikawa characters in Japan has led to a vast array of merchandise across various categories, including NEW ERA baseball caps and themed restaurants, making their McDonald’s Happy Meal toys highly sought-after items.
McDonald’s Japan has requested that each customer purchase no more than a maximum of four Happy Meal sets across both the Minecraft: The Movie and Chiikawa themes during the upcoming release of a second wave of toys for each theme.
This is aimed at allowing as many customers as possible to acquire the new toys.
McDonald’s Japan has also requested that customers refrain from purchasing the Happy Meals for resale or any other commercial purposes.
This appears to be an attempt to prevent scalping and ensure that genuine customers can collect the toys.
The company also kindly requested customers to refrain from contacting individual stores regarding stock inquiries, acknowledging the potential for an overwhelming volume of calls due to the expected popularity of the toys.
These requests were made by McDonald’s Japan in a statement on their website.
The full translated text of the message reads as follows:
Thank you for your continued patronage of McDonald’s Japan.
Starting Friday, May 23, 2025, the second round of Happy Meals “Minecraft: The Movie” and “Chiikawa” will go on sale.
In order to deliver to as many children as possible, we ask that each person purchase a maximum of four sets of the two Happy Meals, “Minecraft: The Movie” and “Chiikawa.”
In addition, please refrain from purchasing for resale or other commercial purposes.
We apologize, but we ask that you refrain from contacting stores with inquiries regarding stock.
We kindly ask for your understanding and cooperation.
The language used is typically polite, as with many corporate communications in Japan, but can be interpreted as merely as a request to limit purchases to four Happy Meals per theme and not engage in reselling.
While requests of this nature will typically be taken seriously and followed by Japanese people, it will likely not deter foreign resellers and scalpers who may conclude that the actions requested by McDonald’s are optional given the phrasing used.
An identical limit of four Happy Meals per customer was advised prior to the first wave of the Chiikawa Happy Meals being released, but this was clearly ignored by scalpers who purchased huge numbers of Happy Meals and abandoned them in stores after removing the toys.
This led to a premature end to the distribution of the first wave of both the Chiikawa and Minecraft: The Movie Happy Meal toys.
The first wave of each promotion was expected to last a full week but high demand saw them conclude after just three days.
The second round of Minecraft: The Movie and Chiikawa Happy Meal toys will be available starting from Friday, May 23rd 2025.
They are expected to see a similar level of demand, so fans are advised to get to McDonald’s restaurants as early as possible if they want to get their hands on the new toys.
The four toys that will be distributed as the second wave of the Chiikawa Happy Meal promotion are as follows:
- Hachiware Tray Photo Frame
- Chiikawa Memo Set
- Usagi Sticker Dispenser
- Momonga McDonald’s Sign Pencil Cap
Following the second wave, a final wave of toys will be distributed a week later that will include any remaining toys from the first and second waves of the Chiikawa and Minecraft: The Movie Happy Meals.
McDonald’s Japan have warned that this final week of toys may not occur at all, in the event that all toys sell out prior to it starting.
As the first wave sold out entirely in 3 days, the release of the final wave would rely on there being left over toys from the second wave.
Given there appears to be little in place, other than a polite request, to prevent resellers targeting the second wave, it seems very likely that the next wave of McDonald’s Chiikawa toys will sell out quickly and the promised final wave will not occur, or will only consist of Minecraft toys.
Source: McDonald’s Japan
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