HONG KONG – Japan’s beloved manga “Chiikawa” is back in Hong Kong for good this time, with the viral sensation opening the city’s first permanent merchandise store over the weekend after a pop-up shop last summer, just in time for China’s lucrative weeklong holiday spending spree.
The Chiikawa shop, which opened on Saturday, features plush toys that combine the manga characters with classic delicacies of “cha chaan teng,” Hong Kong’s iconic casual eateries, such as creamy egg tarts, pineapple buns and wonton noodle soup.
Another set highlights the red-white-blue carriage bag, which is believed to have been developed in Japan in the 1960s and later became a staple of Hong Kong culture, with each toy priced from HK$149 ($19). Limited-edition T-shirts and tote bags are also available.
Mainland Chinese social media content creator Charlotte Tao on Saturday made a day trip from Shenzhen, within an hour’s travel from the Chiikawa shop, and spent more than HK$2,000 on the plush toys.
“I find Chiikawa very cute and the manga heartwarming,” the 28-year-old said. “When I’m tired from work, it feels more therapeutic than anything else.”
Engineer Ho Choi, 39, said he spent over HK$4,000, since he found resonance in the story’s “slice-of-life, gritty” plots.
The story of Chiikawa — literally meaning “something small and cute” — depicts an unwavering dystopia, in which characters must work hard to make ends meet and at times may turn into monsters.
The launch of the shop in Hong Kong came around two weeks ahead of China’s Labor Day holidays beginning on May 1, which see massive tourist volumes traveling to the city and crowding local hot spots and retail shops.
The manga brand launched its first overseas flagship store in Shanghai last September, with permanent outlets also opening in Taipei and Seoul.
Last August, a Chiikawa Days pop-up exhibition in Hong Kong saw over 100,000 visitors, with the K11 Musea shopping mall that hosted the event recording its highest monthly traffic since it opened in 2019.