Honami Sato's Yetis Get Carabiners in Ken Elephant's 夜行 Capsule Toys

Honami Sato's yetis look like they wandered in from somewhere colder. Now they come with carabiners. Ken Elephant released 夜行 FIGURE MASCOT on 8 October, a capsule toy series based on 夜行, the plush-focused art project Sato started in 2017.

Sato is a painter and sculptor who studied architecture at Musashino Art University and went independent in 2016. Her work takes cryptids that have been talked about for generations, such as the yeti and the tsuchinoko, and Ken Elephant says she sets out to bring a pleasant kind of strangeness into everyday life.

There are five to collect, each hanging from a chunky clip. A big grey YETI (adult) and a white albinoYETI (adult) lead the line-up. Two more clips carry a pair of juveniles each, and one of those pairs includes a deep blue fuzzball labelled 擬態生物-C (roughly "mimic creature C"), which the display panel describes as a 夜行 yeti juvenile. The fifth is a tan tsuchinoko with a red forked tongue. Ken Elephant says the fur is reproduced in fine detail and given a fluffy flocked finish, to capture how cute the plush versions are.

They cost ¥500 a go from capsule machines and ¥550 for the boxed version. You'll find them in capsule toy shops and hobby shops across Japan, as well as some bookshops, some Loft stores and Ken Elephant's own shops. Ken Elephant's online store sells a six-box pack for ¥3,300.

If you're in Tokyo, the 夜行 POPUP runs from 25 October to 17 November at ケンエレブンシツ, Ken Elephant's flagship shop inside JR Ochanomizu station (ecute EDITION Ochanomizu, 2F). Alongside the capsule toys there'll be stickers, seals and plush pieces. The plush is limited, and Ken Elephant warns that stock may sell out.

Ken Elephant's pitch is that taking the yetis out with you might make an ordinary day a little more special. For ¥500, I'm prepared to test that.