Chiikawa's Kura Sushi Collab Cancelled After Employee Caught Selling Exclusive Prizes

Japanese conveyor belt sushi chain Kura Sushi has abruptly ended its hugely popular Chiikawa collaboration after an internal investigation confirmed misconduct involving one of its employees.

The company announced on September 5 that every part of the limited-time campaign would be discontinued from the start of business on September 6, bringing the collaboration to an early end just over two weeks after it launched.

Chiikawa began as a manga created by illustrator Nagano and posted through X in 2020, following the often cute, occasionally surprisingly tough lives of Chiikawa, Hachiware, Usagi and their friends.

Its popularity has since expanded far beyond social media, with the television anime launching in 2022 and the franchise becoming one of Japan’s biggest character properties, while its first theatrical movie, “Chiikawa: The Secret of Mermaid Island,” is currently playing in Japanese cinemas.

The latest Kura Sushi campaign launched on August 21 and marked the fourth collaboration between the restaurant chain and Chiikawa, offering exclusive merchandise, themed food and special versions of the chain’s popular “Bikkura Pon!” prize game.

Customers could win original figures, acrylic magnets and can badges through Bikkura Pon, while additional campaign giveaways included an original teacup and a sushi plate offered to diners who met the required spending conditions.

Two collaboration menu items were also available, alongside a receipt-based prize campaign, Chiikawa-themed Bikkura Pon videos and special decorations at three participating locations.

Problems surrounding the campaign began attracting attention on social media after fans raised concerns about the handling of its highly sought-after Bikkura Pon prizes, with many claiming that the figures were practically impossible to win.

This led to direct accusations that the figures had either been removed from circulation entirely, or that the amount of stock available was being deliberately decreased, potentially by nefarious means.

Kura Sushi responded on September 2 by confirming that it was investigating the claims and reviewing the handling and inventory of the collaboration merchandise.

Three days later, the company announced that its investigation had uncovered misconduct by an employee and made the decision to cancel the entire campaign rather than continue with the remaining planned releases.

Though not directly confirmed by the company in its statements, it’s clear that the employee concerned was likely found to be taking the exclusive merchandise to resell it at inflated prices, with many fans noting that large quantities of full sets of the figures were widely available through channels such as online auction websites, despite it being increasingly difficult to win them through the in-store promotion.

As a result, distribution of all Bikkura Pon figures, acrylic magnets and can badges has ended, together with the teacup and sushi plate giveaways, collaboration menu items, receipt campaign, exclusive Bikkura Pon videos and store decorations.

The timing is particularly sad for genuine fans looking to pick up some of the merchandise, as distribution of the original Chiikawa teacup had only begun on September 4, two days before the collaboration was terminated.

A second giveaway featuring an original sushi plate had been scheduled to begin on September 18 but will now no longer take place.

Kura Sushi has apologized to customers and everyone involved with the campaign, stating that the cancellation applies across all participating stores from September 6.

The company also warned that television commercials describing the Chiikawa campaign as ongoing may continue to air temporarily despite the collaboration having already ended at its restaurants.