Did You Know: The Earbuds Shaped Like a Japanese Chocolate Snack Will Only Be Made Again if 1,000 People Ask

TOKYO - Did you know one of Japan’s most talked-about pairs of wireless earbuds is shaped exactly like a chocolate snack, and that its sequel will only exist if 1,000 people sign up for it? The Kinoko no Yama Wireless Earphone Pro, named for Meiji’s mushroom-shaped chocolate and cracker treat, opens for orders on the crowdfunding site Makuake at noon on Nov. 1. If fewer than 1,000 orders come in by Dec. 13, it will not be made at all.

The product began as a joke that refused to stay one. On July 11, 2023, Meiji posted a picture of the earbuds on its official X account as part of a campaign of imaginary goods, “things that seem like they should exist but don’t,” created with the product designer Michiru, ITmedia reported at the time. The little chocolate caps hid the speakers, the cracker stems pointed down from the ear, and the charging case was a copy of the snack’s yellow and green box. The post was meant as fun. People wanted to buy it.

Screenshot: @MeijiCoLtd on X

So Meiji built it. According to the company’s March 2024 announcement, the design took about seven months, partly because the snack’s shape is a registered three-dimensional trademark and the team wanted the earbuds to look like a real Kinoko no Yama even while worn. Meiji also gave the joke a serious feature: hands-free translation across 144 languages and accents, through a companion app. The first run went on sale on Makuake on March 26, 2024, limited to 3,500 sets with serial numbers at 29,800 yen each. It sold out in 10 minutes.

That limit is the reason the sequel has a condition attached. In its Oct. 26 release, Kagomedia, the Tokyo company that planned and developed the original under Meiji’s license, said it went back to Meiji with a proposal to sell the earbuds again. Meiji’s first answer was no, out of respect for the people who had bought a product sold as a strictly limited edition. Kagomedia then suggested asking the fans directly: if at least 1,000 people still wanted a pair, Meiji would allow it. Meiji agreed and issued a fresh license.

Image: Kagomedia

The campaign runs on Makuake’s all-or-nothing terms, so if the target is missed, the project does not go ahead. If it is met, there is no cap this time. Kagomedia says it will build to order, in whatever quantity is requested, with shipping planned from mid-March 2027. The regular price is 36,300 yen, but the first 1,000 units ordered in the opening 24 hours will cost 29,800 yen, the same as the 2024 model. Further discount tiers follow at 31,800, 33,000 and 34,800 yen. Kagomedia has not decided whether the Pro will ever be sold outside the campaign.

Under the chocolate shell, the Pro is meant to be a better gadget, not just a reissue. ITmedia Mobile lists four changes. The speakers have been retuned, and Kagomedia’s own measurements show stronger bass output, improved treble and lower distortion in the low end. The touch controls now use a gold-plated flexible circuit instead of copper foil, which the company says makes taps register more reliably. The ear tips are soft memory foam. And the charging case has been reworked to draw 0.08 milliamps on standby instead of 0.5, a cut of about 84 percent, so a charged case now holds its power for about 81 days instead of about 26.

Screenshot: @makuake_ca on X

The translation feature carries over unchanged: 74 languages plus 70 dialects and accents, for 144 in total, with 98 percent accuracy by Kagomedia’s own testing. Meiji’s product page for the original model describes one earbud going to the person you are talking with, so each side hears the other in its own language. That page lists a Qualcomm chip, 10-millimeter drivers, about five grams per earbud, six hours of playback and IPX4 splash resistance for the 2024 version. It also carries a line every snack company should probably print on its electronics: this product is not food. Keep it away from small children and pets, the page warns, because it is a choking hazard.

Image: Kagomedia

Kinoko no Yama has been on Japanese shelves since 1975, and it is half of one of the country’s longest-running friendly rivalries, with its sister snack Takenoko no Sato, shaped like a bamboo shoot. Fans of the bamboo-shoot side asked for their own earbuds within a day of the 2023 post, and Meiji’s page for the original still lists a Takenoko no Sato version as “coming soon.” For now, the mushrooms go first, and this time the buyers decide whether the earbuds get made at all.