Hatsune Miku collaborates with historic Kyoto candy maker for exclusive new “Senbonzakura” merch
A new collaboration has been announced that brings together a historic, 128-year-old Kyoto candy maker and one of the most famous Vocaloid songs of all time, “Senbonzakura.”
The collaboration is with Kyo no Ame Ishizaki Goshonoishi Honpo, a traditional “Kyo-ame” (Kyoto candy) maker that was founded in 1897 and will see the release of a new “gachapon,” or capsule toy, called “Senbonzakura – Sakura no Arashi” (“A Storm of Cherry Blossoms”).
“Senbonzakura” is an iconic and massively popular song by the producer Kurousa-P, featuring the virtual singer Hatsune Miku, which is renowned for its retro, Taisho-era aesthetic.
This new capsule toy is designed to fuse the world of the song with the traditional craft of Kyoto candy making.
Each capsule contains two main items.
The first is a pack of three, individually wrapped, special-edition, sakura-flavored Kyo-ame candies, which have been made with real cherry blossom leaves.
The second is one of six possible different, limited-edition can badges, which are distributed at random and feature the characters from the song.
Some of the capsules will also contain an “atari-kuji,” or a “winning ticket.”
This ticket can be exchanged for a special grand prize: a “Senbonzakura – Sakura no Arashi” special art frame.
The gachapon machine that dispenses the capsules is also a special, custom-designed unit.
This new collaboration is a hyper-local and highly exclusive release.
The “Senbonzakura – Sakura no Arashi” gachapon will be available at only two locations in the city of Kyoto: the Henn na Hotel Premier Kyoto Ekihachijoguchi-mae and the Henn na Hotel Premier Gojo Karasuma.
Each capsule is priced at ¥500 (approx. $3.40 USD/£2.50 GBP) and they will go on sale from Saturday, the 4th of October, at 12:00 PM Japan Standard Time.
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