I’ve spent the past five Christmases and New Year’s in Japan, and one of the most exciting things about the season is the release of the annual Starbucks New Year’s mug. Yes, I’m a consumer whore.
These mugs are unique to Japan and are released on December 26. I’ve noticed that they sell out faster and faster every year. In 2006 I bought mine in Shinjuku well into the New Year. The past couple of years, I’ve had to scramble and visit multiple stores to find enough for gifts and for myself. Here’s what they look like.
2006:
2007:
2008:
2009:
2010:
I think my favorites are 2008 and 2009.
I have the 2009 one, but in Tumbler form. I love it. That’s Himeji Castle, right?
I’m loving the simplicity of 2007, but I’m a big fan of 2010 too. Way cooler than most of the mugs you can buy in the States (I’ll give Starbucks the benefit of the doubt that there are some neat ones that I just haven’t seen/own)!
I like 2007. I have to say that mugs and tumblers are the only things that starbucks does well.
Those are some classy mugs. How have I not noticed them?
Do you know the name of the artist who did the drawing in the 2009 one?
I used to have some of his pictures (actually, that one has been my twitter background for years) but I forgot the name of the guy and cant find it anymore…
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