Japanese versions of US toys

Japanese versions of US toys


I thought it may be fun to look at a few (but not all) examples of how some American favourites looked like over in Japan, the land of amazing toys and cartoons.

We’ll start with the Mickey Mouse Snowcone machine, a take on the Snoopy Sno-Cone machine. This one confuses me because SNOOPY IS REALLY POPULAR IN JAPAN! Not sure why they switched to Mickey here.

Much more after the jump!




In terms of Sno-Cone makers I much prefer this pleasant snowman, I am unsure if he’s a TV character or not.

A take on “The Mighty Men and Monster Marker” was the Print 4000 series and featured characters from Ultraman and “Moero! Thunder 5”. I wouldn’t trade toys but wow, these are cool.


Popy Godzilla may be a little shorter than his American borther but he’s a got bigger….spines.


Japan turned Stretch Armstrong into Mr. X and made even his box cooler.


Bop Bags didn’t feature Popeye or Bozo but characters like Mirror Man and the latest Ultra-Man character.

The Easy Bake Oven became “Margaret’s Cooking Oven”, who’s Margaret? My Gran was named Margaret and let me tell you, she was not a good cook.


I close this off with Japan’s take on Evel Knievel, which was smaller and of coruse THEY ADDED SUPERHEROES LIKE KAMEN RIDER TO THE MIX! Which keeps me up night.
Konichiwa! Have a great weekend.



About The Author

Mantooth
AKA Brian Heiler author of "Rack Toys: Cheap, Crazed Playthings" and co-editor of "Toy-Ventures Magazine". Co-Host of the "Pod Stallions" podcast. Host of the Brick Mantooth Youtube channel, painter, designer, writer, mental health advocate, toy collector, Mego, and Mego Knock-Off enthusiast. I have large feet, ADHD and I live in Canada. Talk toys, not others.

1 Comment

  • DS on November 10, 2017

    In Japan the name "Margaret" has a wholesome and British connotation and is used to name many things for pre-teen girls in Japan. However I still don't know if it's all the same brand or different companies using the name. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_(magazine)

Leave a Reply