Rantaro NHK Ninja Shop

Walking into the NHK Character Shop at Tokyo Station feels like stepping into a cartoon wonderland where everyone’s favorite NHK characters live together under one roof. The shop sits in Tokyo Character Street (First Avenue B1F, Tokyo Station) and is packed wall to wall with adorable licensed goodies from NHK shows of all ages. If you are a fan of Nintama Rantarō then you’re in for a treat because the shop has a great collection of items featuring this mischievous ninja academy anime and manga.

Nintama Rantarō follows the adventures of three young ninja students who are as cute as they are clueless sometimes. First there is Rantarō Inadera, a spirited boy born into a family of ordinary ninjas who is determined to improve despite his poor vision and tendency to mess up. Next is Kirimaru, who lost his parents early and now lives with sensei Doi. He loves food, money, and naps and often drags the other two into ridiculous situations. And then there is Shinbei, a kind son of a wealthy merchant whose heart is bigger than his courage. These three friends attend Ninjutsu Academy together, fail sometimes, study sometimes, and mostly have laugh out loud moments together.

At the NHK Character Shop you can expect to find shelves full of Nintama Rantarō keychains that swing from bags, ears, and zippers. You will see plush stuffed versions of Rantarō, Kirimaru, and Shinbei in their ninja garb, staring at you with huge round eyes. There are stickers full of cute chibi versions of the trio, notebooks with their silly expressions, and stationery sets perfect for scrapbooks or travel journals. If you like T-shirts you might find ones with slogans in Japanese like 「忍たまよ」 plus little artwork of Kirimaru drooling after snack time.

The shop has goods for many NHK programs too like Domo-kun and children’s shows, so if you drag along friends who aren’t into Nintama there is still plenty for them to browse. For fans though every item becomes a tiny treasure. The plush toys are soft and tightly stitched, the keychains have shiny metal rings, and the stickers are thick enough so they don’t peel off easily.

Visiting here is part shopping spree part nostalgia trip. You might wander from rack to rack admiring retro NHK characters like Gonta-kun or Finding a gift for your younger cousin, but you will also spend most of your time looking at Nintama Rantarō displays. The atmosphere is friendly, bright, and welcoming. The shop is open every day, tax free for many items if you’re visiting from abroad, and you’ll want to budget time because picking the perfect keychain or plush takes longer than you expect.

If you love ninjas or cartoons or just cute friends who bungle their way through missions Nintama Rantarō goods from NHK Character Shop are one of those happy little moments you won’t want to miss.