Lovely Play & Recreation

A special feature on nostalgic toys and the trends we craved as kids—loads of the things we wanted back then are here!

10 years as a kindergarten teacher / elementary school teacher / junior and senior high school teacher / childminderkepiko
Graduated from Kunitachi College of Music, Faculty of Music (now: Department of Music Culture and Education, Early Childhood Music Education major). In elementary school, my homeroom teacher was Jun Kusaba, a game researcher. After graduating from university, I worked for 10 years as a kindergarten teacher and for 7 years as an after-school childcare instructor, then took a post as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I also engaged in activities that shared Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational play, working with many children. Afterwards, through freelance writing, planning, and editing work at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and conveying ideas. Leveraging the perspective cultivated in educational settings and my experience as an editor, I aim to deliver practical information—focusing on fields related to music and children—that values both input and output. Hobbies include instruments, singing, handcrafts, toys, drawing, traditional play, the outdoors, books, DIY, and crafts. Special skill: spinning-top tricks.

Do you ever find yourself suddenly remembering those nostalgic toys you were obsessed with as a kid? The gadgets you used to compete with your friends over, or that one item you begged to have no matter what.

Trends in toys may change from era to era, but that thrilling excitement that stays deep in your heart never fades, does it? Some of them are still popular even today.

In this article, we’ll look back at the things we wanted as children and the toys that were all the rage back then, and introduce plenty of items that will make you blurt out, “I remember that!” Let’s open the door to those nostalgic memories!

A flood of things we wanted as kids! A special feature on nostalgic toys and trendy toys (61–70)

Zoids

ALL ABOUT ZOIDS: Everything About Zoids F07 – The Giant Dragon That Calls Death –

Zoids

Surprisingly, the Zoids series actually began in 1982 and has a long history, but didn’t it really catch on around the year 2000? In addition to wind-up and motorized model kits, there was also an anime series, and I think many people built lots of them.

Even when there were gaps between installments, new anime series were aired, and it remains popular to this day!

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Bikkuriman sticker

Various Head Stickers from the Classic Bikkuriman series

Bikkuriman sticker

Do you remember the Bikkuriman stickers that were all the rage in the mid-80s? The bonus stickers that came with Lotte’s chocolate wafer snack “Bikkuriman Choco” became hugely popular and even got turned into an anime.

Other companies jumped on the bandwagon with products like the chocolate wafer “Dokidoki Gakuen,” and there were even knockoffs like “Rotchi.” There were so many piggyback products back then that would be unthinkable today.

You wanted a hologram sticker, but you’d usually end up with a demon sticker, right?

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In conclusion

Perhaps memories tucked away in the depths of your mind have come rushing back—of the things you wanted as a child, and the nostalgic toys you played with for hours. Trendy toys from back then have a curious power to warm our hearts across time. Take this chance to peek into your closet or the shelves at your parents’ house, and relive that old excitement once more.