2016-01-12



Doki Doki is a new monthly Kawaii subscription box from Japan Crate. Every month you’ll receive super cute Japanese items – accessories, stationery, plushies, and other adorable Japanese goodies.



The branding for this box is really super cute!

Each crate comes with a manga-style booklet to help you figure out what each item is (that means it’s bound on the right side instead of the left!).

The middle of the booklet contains all the information about the items.

There’s a little comic and a contest too.

Everything in the January 2016 Doki Doki Crate.

Sentimental Circus Fan: oh this is a cute item! I am not sure that I need a fan but it makes a cute decoration and I like the added touch of the hang tag. The material is I think coated paper, but it might be regular plastic. It’s well constructed.

Sailor Moon Blind Box

Awww, I broke the stand trying to put it together. Sailor came with a little Luna P “marble” which doesn’t stand on its own.  I have heard this item is a counterfeit, although I’m not entirely sure that it is. She’s sparkly and fun, and my kids will take the two figures without the stand!

Packaging for Hoppe-Chan

Hello Kitty Wallet

Hoppe-Chan: This adorable cream-puff is easily my favorite item! I’m in love! She comes with a pink polka dot bow, metallic pink chain for hanging on your bag or wherever, and crystal eyes and cheek flushes! She also is lightly glittered. They are wicked cute and you can see more here at Sun Hoseki. There’s not really a whole lot of them online. From what I gather the vast majority of them are sold at 7-11s, which are much cooler in Japan than the US and have all sorts of crazy foods and trinkets. I think I need to book a business trip to Japan to investigate. Also, Hoppe-Chan reminds me of albino emoji poop. Just putting that out there. Check out the swirl!

Now while I’m unsure that the Sailor Moon item is a bootleg, I’m pretty sure that this Hello Kitty wallet is. It’s just not up to Sanrio quality, has no hang tag, and the two designs (groovy Hello Kitty and boutique Hello Kitty) are so discordant in style and theme that it doesn’t make sense. The printing on it is nice quality and it’s a nice and useful “big item,” I just don’t think it’s authentic (see my notes below on this issue).

The wallet came with a wrist strap too, although I admittedly forgot to check out where it loops on.

Domo Stickers: At first I thought I got duplicates, but I realized that the outer ones are two similar but different stickers. DOMO-Kun is the official mascot of Japan’s public broadcaster NHK, and I think way better than the 70’s style PBS weird head, yes?

Baby Alpacasso: Alpacasso is obviously a super cute Alpaca!

Sushi Socks: I had to show you the adorable packaging on these!

He has a little loop for hanging up too – perfect for the car. He (she?) has a cute little gingham and lace bowtie with strawberries on the ends.

Two little sushi rolls, made out of delicious sock.

When you unroll the socks, this is what they look like. They are thin and soft.

I had to attempt to re-roll, and I was pretty proud of myself. I’m not a konmari type.

Rilakkuma Paris Notebook: I didn’t show the back side anywhere, but of course this folds up twice to make it nice and compact. I love the cute french theming and I always use these adorable sort of writing pads. The Louvre/gallery notepad is my favorite.

Pikachu Hip Pop Paradise Plush: Annnnd it’s a Poké-butt. I didn’t know I needed a Pokémon butt! It’s perfect for a gag photo or just for some fun!

A photo posted by Doki Doki Crate (@dokidokicrate) on
Dec 29, 2015 at 3:23pm PST

I really liked the curation of this box – it had lots of adorable and useful items and definitely visited some major kawaii fandoms. I’m a bit disappointed that I don’t have the first crate to show you a full review of, because it was quite good (shot of it above). A couple of the items in this box appear to be fakes, but this can happen to pretty much any box sourcing items overseas, especially to a subscription box company that is used to curating food/snack boxes – for the most part, the supply chains are totally different. I’m expecting this issue to be taken care of quickly! I’m also a little worried that I may have a new Japanese obsession (Hoppe-Chan) to collect along with my Tsum Tsum addiction.

I don’t have any current coupons for Doki Doki, but I have a code for Japan Crate – save $5 on your first Premium crate with coupon code hello.

Visit Doki Doki Crate to subscribe or find out more!

The Subscription: Doki Doki Crate
The Description: Doki Doki Crate is a new way to experience Japan through all things kawaii! You’ll find 8-10 items in each crate including plushies keychains, figures, squishies, apparel, collectibles and much more. From Japan Crate!
The Price: $30.00 per month

See Doki Doki Crate in the Hello Subscription Box Directory!
The Categories: Boxes with Geographic Appeal, Kawaii Subscription Boxes, Local Boxes: Asian, Special Interest & Fan Subscription Boxes.
The Spoilers: Check out Doki Doki Crate Spoilers.

Read the rest of this post on Hello Subscription!

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