Tokyo Store Lets Customers Get Lost in the World of Penguin Goods; Store Features Original Items, Artisan-Created Goods

By Akio Oikawa / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

12:00 JST, July 19, 2024

With their aerodynamic silhouettes and thick feet that give the impression of wearing rubber boots, penguins remain perennial favorites. Their comforting appearance might tempt one to collect penguin goods, and a store in Tokyo’s Otsuka district is just the place for that.

Penguin Do Zakkaten specializes in miscellaneous penguin goods. This includes emperor, southern rockhopper and Humboldt penguins, which can be found as figurines or stuffed animals. The sizes range from as big as 70 centimeters to as small as one’s fingertips. I felt like a kid in a candy store, unable to choose what to look at.

Hiroshi Takano, who runs the store, said he began collecting the goods in the 1980s after graduating from university.

“They are cute, but we can never tell what they are thinking from their appearance. That’s what I like about them,” Takano said.

He began selling the penguin goods in a corner of his family’s glass store. However, as their number grew, Takano eventually opened a store specifically for them.

The store also sells its own goods including beckoning papier-mache penguins, modeled after beckoning cats, penguin-patterned tenugui hand towels and button pins.

Customers can also find realistically created stuffed animals. Its products feature characteristics of each species, such as a glossy yellow neck or a crest of feathers on the head. A British interior designer made a door stopper that has an interesting color scheme of blue, white and yellow.

Takano visits various exhibitions to look for penguin goods and feels that “the variety is increasing every year.” Does this mean that more people are falling in love with penguins?

“The world of penguin goods is wide and deep,” Takano said. “They range from ones that pursue realism to those altered to look cute. Each one has its own appeal.”

Artisan works

Some goods sold at Penguin Do are made by artisans. They include a realistic parent-and-child penguin sculpture carved out of horse chestnut wood, a set of penguin family matryoshka dolls, ceramic mugs and more. There are also chopstick rests and vases.

Despite coming in different shapes and sizes, the works are filled with the animals’ charm.

“They all reflect the creators’ ideas and individuality,” Takano said.

They would also make amazing gifts.