You may have received a postcard from me in the past with a shiny square sticker on it. This is usually a Bikkuriman sticker, which is packed in with a wafer snack. On Thursday at Nakano I bought this:
It’s a sealed box of Bikkuriman Star Wars wafers! It cost me a grand total of ¥3040, or about $21. Not bad for a collectible from 7 years ago. “Seven years ago?!?” you say…
Yep, these wafers are loooooong expired. Obviously, I bought these just for the stickers. I had originally considered taking it home unopened, but I’m a bit tight for luggage space so last night I executed Operation Bikkuri and opened it in my hotel room!
Isn’t it lovely how it’s been packed? I found it interesting the pack colours align and are not equal. Here’s the two wrapper designs:
I was a bit cautious opening the first one. Things have changed now and the stickers are sealed inside little plastic bags but back in 2016 they were just loose so I feared the wafer may have rotted/melted and ruined the sticker. Happily my fears were unfounded:
Since I had done no research, I was not prepared for the stickers to be holographic! This was a most pleasant surprise. I didn’t try the wafer: I don’t really enjoy them even when fresh and I didn’t want to risk food poisoning 🙂
My next surprise was that amongst the 30 packs I obtained a full set of all 24 stickers. And don’t they all look fantastic? Which is your favourite?
Bikkuriman stickers have been around for decades now and are known for their particular style. When they do collaborations the same style is used and I think it matches Star Wars well. I’m astonished I didn’t know about this product before seeing it in a case in Nakano!
I love these stickers! This is the quintessential example of why otaku shopping here in Japan can be so much fun: finding a treasure you didn’t even know existed, and for cheap as well. A quick look online shows me there were followup series for later films. Maybe one day I’ll find some of them?
Oh, and yes I got 30 stickers where the set is only 24, which means I got 6 extras. If you want one, please leave a comment on this post (or text me) within the next day. First come, first served!