BODY: Two of Japan's most beloved comfort brands are colliding in Hokkaido. Ishiya Shoji, maker of the legendary "Shiroi Koibito" white-chocolate langue de chat cookies, has partnered with Nintendo's Animal Crossing: New Horizons on a special collaboration tin—and it launches today, August 14, exclusively at the Daimaru Sapporo department store.
The product, officially titled the "Shiroi Koibito 36-Piece 'Animal Crossing: New Horizons — From Jun' Collaboration Tin," pairs the confection's classic buttery cookies with island-life artwork. Priced at 4,600 yen, it's sold in strictly limited quantities.
The "From Jun" framing is a charming touch: in New Horizons, villagers can mail you gifts, and the tin is styled as a present from Jun (known as Julian in the English release), the smooth-talking, unicorn-like horse villager who's a longtime fan favorite. It's a small detail that turns a box of cookies into a keepsake for players.
Shoppers should move fast. The sales period runs through September 6, but Ishiya notes the run will end the moment stock is gone—typical for these single-store Hokkaido exclusives, which routinely sell out well ahead of schedule.
The insider take
Shiroi Koibito isn't just a snack in Japan—it's the Hokkaido souvenir, the box travelers are practically obligated to bring home from Sapporo. Anchoring the launch at a single Daimaru location is a deliberately scarce move that fuels the collector frenzy Japanese brands have perfected: tie a mass-market treat to a nostalgic game IP, cap the supply, and watch resale listings appear within hours. For Animal Crossing fans outside Japan, this one will be genuinely hard to get—no online sales, no national rollout, just Sapporo. Expect the tin, not the cookies inside, to be the real prize.
Originally reported by GAME Watch (Japanese).