Catch a Yokai Watch Ghost at the Supermarket

Watch out for Jibanyan in Japan. Enter any Japanese supermarket and you will realize that Japanese food packaging has turned into a cute crazy art form populated by the most famous anime, manga, game, and Disney characters.

The all-time favorites with Japanese kids like Anpanman, Doraemon, Mickey, Pokemon, Snoopy, and Hello Kitty are in every supermarket. On top of all their branded toys and clothes they have a lot of foods and drinks. They decorate packages and have been turned into cookies, cheese, sausage slices, tofu, and all kinds of drinks.

Japanese supermarkets will also show you what is popular at the moment. This year there is Yokai Watch everywhere, especially Jibanyan the cat ghost monster. See if you can catch him!

Here are a few of the wonderful, fun, surprising, and sometimes truly Japanese Yokai Watch food items I have seen (yokai furikake!). There is also a lot of food related merchandise being sold - anything from bento lunch boxes and chopsticks to cups and bags to prepare a complete character meal.

Yokai Watch starts with the explanation that all kinds of strange things that happen are caused by the yokai ghosts around us. We cannot see them, but they are there. Go to a supermarket and you will see the yokai!