Okinawa Dialect Karuta

Recently we visited a shop that specializes in ceramics by the Swedish designer Lisa Larson (click here to see examples of her work).While browsing I came across this version of the card game 'Karuta', designed by the company Toy Roadworks, which is based on the Okinawa dialect.

The game involves matching picture cards containing a single hiragana character with a card containing a phrase beginning with that character. The picture cards are laid out face up and the phrases read out in turn, the players must then try to spot and pick up the corresponding picture card.

It's a very simple game but good fun, especially after a drink or two! I was really attracted to the bright, bold woodblock print style and the slightly surreal depictions on the cards. The company also makes all sorts of weird and wonderful papier-mache toys, you can check out their website here.

Miffy MP3 Player

I've been desperately trying to save money recently but its proving rather difficult, especially when I keep finding things like this:

 

I mean, who could honestly resist buying a Miffy MP3 player and Speaker / USB dock set? Not me for one! Just look at the thing!

Luckily, my birthday is coming up so I didn't end up having to pay for it myself and after pleading on bended knee I was allowed to open it early. The figure itself is the MP3 player and detaches from the base and can be connected to a PC or Mac by itself. The base part is the dock and speakers, the sound quality is surprisingly good and the centre lights up when switched on. The whole thing is about 9.5 cm tall.

The controls round the back, the on switch is the left arm.

Miffy boxed.

The base boxed.

Incidentally, if you are thinking of buying one, look online and you will save a lot of money. We first saw this in Kiddyland but when checking online we found it for less than a third of the price!