Only in Japan: Holy Cute!

This is a regular segment I'm going to feature on my blog. Just things in Japan that I've noticed since I've been here. This week's segment: Japanese Cute!

There seems to be an abundance of cute in this country. You'll find cute things everywhere - in the grocery store, on subway signs, even the airplanes are cute (that's the Pokemon airplane I saw at the Haneda Airport in Tokyo).

I've shown this picture before, but it's worth showing again. I have no idea what this sign says - for all I know, it could be warning me about not leaving my luggage unattended, or not riding on tiny planes in the lobby area. The point is there's a cute boy waving and riding a tiny plane. Cuteness!!

The perhaps the best place to find cute is the grocery store. The above picture is of lunchboxes - I mean, has your lunch ever looked this cute? Making sure your child's bento (lunch box) is cute seems to be a national pastime here - you'll find all sorts of decorations and frills for food, it would be hard to eat those cute pieces of art. And just when you think you've seen all the cute you can stand.....

Then they gotta put a face on the sponges. Cleaning just got cute (and yes, I bought one)!