A nostalgic toy that was popular in my childhood
Nostalgic toys we played with as kids—there are a few that come to your mind too, right?
From those that are still popular and on the market to ones you hardly see anymore, there are all kinds of toys.
Some might not come to mind right away, but the moment you see them, you’ll think, “This! I used to play with this all the time!!” and be instantly transported back to childhood.
In this article, we’ll introduce a wide range of nostalgic toys across different eras.
See if your favorite toy makes an appearance.
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Nostalgic toys that were popular in childhood (1–10)
Game Boy-shaped shampoo
For those of that generation, this must be incredibly nostalgic, right? It was a shampoo bottle shaped like a Game Boy, and the screen part was a water game.
When you pressed the A and B buttons, rings floated up on the screen, and you could try to hook them onto the little rods inside.
There were also pocket tissues with a Game Boy pattern, weren’t there? All of it is so nostalgic.
Mini 4WD
There were so many kids in the ’90s and 2000s who were totally into Mini 4WD cars! I’m sure lots of people set up tracks to race with friends, and many even entered big tournaments.
Everyone would swap out parts and tweak their cars to make them run even faster! Plus, Mini 4WD became a huge hit thanks to the manga and anime “Bakusō Kyōdai Let’s & Go!!” and even video games.
Biting Granny
The Grandma Biter eraser was released in 1987 as a prize from a lottery you could enter when you bought mechanical pencil lead refills.
Didn’t some of your classmates have one at school? The dentures are designed to come off, making it a very humorous toy! Given its uniquely surreal look, I wouldn’t be surprised if quite a few people have still held onto it without throwing it away.
Nostalgic toys that were popular in our childhood (11–20)
shrink plastic
Shrinky Dinks—plastic sheets you still often see today as handmade craft items.
Back then, they weren’t as mainstream as they are now; I remember them being thought of mostly as kids’ craft toys.
Since they’re transparent, many of us probably traced a design placed underneath, drew on the sheet, then heated it in the oven to make keychains and the like.
These days, people even coat Shrinky Dinks with resin to make accessories and other goods!
Flower Rock
It’s a simple toy that moves as if it’s dancing in response to nearby sounds or music.
Many of you might have owned one back in the day.
Although it was released by Takara Tomy as a toy, it apparently became unexpectedly popular among people in their twenties and older.
A revised version was even released in 2008, making it one of those long-loved, classic toys.
Pepsiman bottle cap
Even now, when you visit model shops or toy stores that sell pre-owned figures, you’ll spot those Pepsi bottle caps.
They first appeared in 1998 and stayed popular until the early 2000s, didn’t they? Back then, each bottle of Pepsi came with a bonus bottle cap, and I’m sure many people’s refrigerators were packed with Pepsi.
The collaborations with Star Wars and Ichiro Suzuki are nostalgic, too.
Pocket Pikachu
A small handheld game device that lets you communicate with Pikachu on the screen—nicknamed PokéPika.
It had a pedometer function, and the more steps you walked, the closer your bond with Pikachu became.
I’m sure many people took their PokéPika out when they went to play.
It was also designed to link with Pokémon Gold and Silver, making it a hot topic among kids who played Pokémon!