Japan’s popular stick-shaped snack used to construct giant panda

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:47 JST, February 21, 2022

TOTTORI — Hundreds of Umaibo, a popular Japanese stick-shaped snack, were used to form a giant panda at Encho-en, a Chinese-style garden in Yurihama, Tottori Prefecture.

Students of Yurihama Gakuen Senior High School used 5,830 Umaibo to create the panda and four other objects resembling landmarks across China — Shanghai’s Oriental Pearl Tower, the Great Wall of China, the Canton Tower and the Potala Palace in the Tibet Autonomous Region — as part of the school’s exploratory study.

Wrapped Umaibo were stuck to cardboard frames to build the 3-meter-tall Oriental Pearl Tower and the 7-meter-long palace. The 1-meter-tall giant panda was made using the chocolate flavored Umaibo because of its dark brown wrapper.

The snack display can be seen until noon on Feb. 27. Afterward, the pieces will be dismantled, and the Umaibo will be given away to visitors.