Our resident sticker-collecting writer shares why she’s saying “enough is enough” and is extricating herself from a sticky situation.

Sticker collecting and trading as a hobby has been sweeping Japan among kids and adults alike for a while now, to the point that puffy stickers were sold out last year and people were shelling out ridiculous amounts of money to get their hands on them. Our Japanese-language reporter Haruka Takagi also got all in on the fun herself, even making new friends through this shared interest…until recently, that is. She suddenly stopped collecting them last month for one simple reason–she got tired of the hassle.

Now, there are still plenty of stickers that she hasn’t gotten her hands on yet, such as those from the 3-D Bon Bon Drops brand, anything featuring her beloved pandas, Sanrio’s Pompompurin, and more that she’s seen on social media. The company behind Bon Bon Drops recently announced that it increased its production by 2.5 times due to popular demand…which sounds like she should be able to easily get her hands on them, no? The truth isn’t quite so simple.

▼ Keep calm and stick on

As a homebody, Haruka prefers purchasing most of her stickers online on places like Amazon and Rakuten through the official manufacturers’ pages. Until not that long ago, she was able to purchase stickers by occasionally browsing these sites and placing an order. Even if some of them sold out in five minutes, that still gave her enough time to look through the options and use her loyalty points. However, that practice changed completely with the advent of “breaking news” sticker social media sites, where certain accounts give notifications at the exact moment popular stickers go on sale, causing tens of thousands of fans to flood the shopping sites all at once. She can barely even buy stickers online at all now as a result.

She could try proactively patrolling her usual pages before these kinds of announcements are made, but that practice is unsustainable. Although she’s a freelance writer, that doesn’t mean she has the time to obsessively check these sites every hour, especially when she’s wearing her “mom hat.” The situation is also unrealistic for physical store locations, where stickers might sell out in five minutes and then customers have to either store-hop from place to place or wait for hours on-site for workers to restock them. It doesn’t make any sense to go to these extreme lengths for what’s supposed to be a simple hobby.

A further concern is that the stickers Haruka orders might not arrive–if she even manages to buy them in the first place. She’s been hearing more and more about such cases recently, and has even personally experienced not getting a set that she went through a lot of trouble to order that never came and the ensuing emotional letdown. She’s realized that when a site lists things like “reserve now” or “estimated restock time,” sometimes the stickers don’t materialize for months, or the store might even cancel the order after a certain amount of time.

That frustration led her to consider making purchases from third-party sellers on auction sites. Initially she was enthusiastic about the idea because the prices weren’t that far off from the manufacturers’ prices, and she should be able to find her favorites more easily. However, she then learned that the tradeoff is that counterfeits abound. Take the Tamagotchi sets pictured below, for instance, which appear to be almost indistinguishable at a glance. However, she received the fake version from a third-party seller, which made her lose trust in such sites.

▼ Genuine set (left) versus counterfeit set (right)

However, the final straw that broke the camel’s back for Haruka’s sticker collecting was the official manufacturers announcing that they would be releasing dozens of new sticker sets, seemingly all at once, too.

While the prospect of new stickers may sound exciting, Haruka had a completely different natural reaction to the news along the lines of the following:

“That probably means they’ll be discontinuing the ones I want and have been waiting for forever.”
“It’s not like I’ll be able to get my hands on any of the new ones anyway…”
“I’m so tired of this.”

Since then, all of the fiery passion that she once had for growing her collection dimmed until it was nothing more than a whiff of smoke. Now she feels strangely sad when she hears about newly released sticker sets, which is why she’s decided to take a break from stickers altogether.

That doesn’t mean Haruka’s given up all hope, though. She has faith that someday she’ll be able to pick her hobby back up again, whenever she can leisurely browse through the options and not have to jump through all kinds of hoops to get them. In the meantime, we hope she’ll consider starting a new collection–ideally something that won’t become just as complicated.

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TAWAU, June 8 — The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has directed telecommunications service providers to take immediate measures to improve the quality of communications coverage in Kampung Tinagat here.

In a statement today, MCMC said the directive followed a working visit and assessment of communications coverage and service performance conducted at three identified locations in the village.

The visit, attended by the Kampung Tinagat Village Development and Security Committee (JKKK), follows complaints from Apas assemblyman Datuk Nizam Abu Bakar Titingan and residents over poor cellular service quality.

MCMC said Wireless Broadband Access Service (WBAS) tests found that two of the three locations assessed failed to meet the commission’s mandatory standards.

The findings were conveyed to the relevant service providers on May 29, with the companies given seven working days to submit their feedback and action plans.

The commission said notices under Section 51(2) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 would be issued to any service provider that fails to respond within the stipulated period.

To ensure immediate improvements, CelcomDigi has been instructed to enhance network coverage and submit short- and long-term action plans.

“Maxis has also been directed to carry out maintenance works at the Kampung Tinagat telecommunications tower site,” the statement said.

MCMC said it would continue to monitor the implementation of the improvement measures to ensure network quality issues are effectively addressed for the benefit of residents. — Bernama 

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KUANTAN, June 6 — Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil has conveyed his condolences to the family of Pahang PKR leader Abas Awang, who died yesterday.

In a Facebook post today, Fahmi said Abas’s contributions, sacrifices and service to the party and the people will always be remembered.

“My condolences to all his family members. May you be granted strength, fortitude, and may all your affairs be made easy,” he said.

Abas died at his residence in Section 4, Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor.

He was the PKR candidate for the Bera parliamentary seat in the 15th General Election and had led the PKR Education Bureau for about a decade. — Bernama

Blown wildly out of proportion in large format, the slime molds that British photographer Barry Webb captures seem atmospheric and sculptural. Stemonitis, for example, looks like dozens of thin pieces of wire with their ends coated in colored wax. But this fungi-like form is one of hundreds of kinds of slime mold, and it typically only reaches a height of about two centimeters at the most. Thanks to Webb’s macro photos, we glimpse a phenomenally beautiful world up-close that is otherwise virtually invisible.

Scientists have documented hundreds of these organisms, which aren’t actually related to plants, fungi, animals, or molds—despite the name. They comprise a unique group unto themselves, more closely related to amoebas. And new discoveries are being made all the time. From mottled gray bulbs that look like snow-covered trees to pink, coral-like tendrils, Webb chronicles a huge array of colors and shapes. He also consistently submits images to local and national botanical records so that researchers have access to high-resolution imagery.

Webb’s image of a species called Lamproderma scintillans, partly engulfed by a water droplet, won the Botanical Britain category of the British Wildlife Photography Awards. Several of his photos are on display in large format in the exhibition Mythos Wald at Gasometer Oberhausen in Germany, which continues through the end of the year. And in the U.K., see Webb’s awarded images in the 2026 International Garden Photographer of the Year exhibition at Cambridge University Botanic Garden. Find more on his Instagram.

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Barry Webb Documents a Marvelous, Macro Array of Colorful Slime Molds appeared first on Colossal.

In Ava Roth’s sculpture practice, a finished piece is the result of careful planning and tending, but the outcome can only be predicted so much. Whether creating wooden frameworks or organic embroideries, the artist leaves it to bees to create the ultimate form.

Roth has long invited the honeycomb-building insects to play a role in her work, often adding wonderfully bulbous constructions that occasionally disrupt the artist’s carefully placed boundaries. Wooden pieces are mandala-like and take on the quality of low reliefs once the bees have done their part. Recently, she leapt into the three-dimensional realm via ceramics and a time-honored tradition of repair in her series Kintsu-Bee.

The new body of work is a play on the Japanese word kintsugi, which describes a traditional method of repairing ceramics with metallic lacquer. The process embraces the nature of the breakage itself, mending the vessel yet highlighting the cracks as a way of embracing the object’s history rather than trying to camouflage it. In Roth’s iteration, bees are invited to reconstruct the missing parts, guided around forms to create the missing handle of a mug or fill in the fissures of a dinner plate.

“Mirroring the philosophy of kintsugi, the unique architecture of the comb acts both as a restorative measure and as a visual memory of the past,” says a statement. “When extracted, the delicacy and complexity of the composite objects—half human and half insect—tell a story not just of human violence but of the earth’s capacity for repair.”

See more on Roth’s Instagram.

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Ava Roth Collaborates with Insects to Create ‘Kintsu-Bee’ Ceramic Vessels appeared first on Colossal.

We find out just how devilish and angelic these 100-yen surprises are.

Our reporter Natsuno Futon was strolling the streets of Oyama City in Tochigi Prefecture the other day when she came across an unusual vending machine. The first thing that caught her eye was the huge “100 yen” (US$0.63) sign on the front, but then, as she stepped closer, she became even more intrigued.

There, in the window display, were the words “いろんなおもちゃ” (“various toys“), and beneath them: “Contains items worth between 20 and 300 yen“.

As her eyes moved down to scan the second row, she read the words: “平和と平等” (“Peace and Equality”) and then, on the third row, “天使と悪魔” (“Angels and Demons”).

Natsuno had never encountered a vending machine stocked with Peace and Equality and Angels and Demons before, and neither had her children who were with her on this outing. Needless to say, her children were excited to find out what these mystery items were, so Natsuno found herself reaching into her pocket for some 100-yen coins.

With a machine like this, part of the fun is randomly selecting a button to press, and her daughter started by pushing one of the buttons on the top row, which were marked “おもちゃ” (“toys“).

▼ A long cylinder immediately popped out into the tray at the bottom of the machine, and this is what came out of it.

A toy car and five toy coins. From Natsuno’s point-of-view, this was a bit of a disappointment, particularly as her daughter doesn’t have any interest in toy cars or fake coins.

▼ Hoping for something better, her daughter popped a real coin into the machine and pressed a button on the “Peace and Equality“row.

The buttons on the second and third rows read “お菓子” (“sweets“), so they knew this would be something edible. What that would be, however, remained a mystery until they popped the lid on the canister they received.

▼ Oh! That looks like Mochitaro.

Mochitaro is a classic Japanese “dagashi” (cheap snack) consisting of crunchy rice cracker chunks. It wasn’t the only thing in the canister, as it also contained some mango jelly and a small bag of Haribo gummy candies.

For 100 yen (US$0.63), this was a decent deal, and it gave Natsuno and her daughter hope that they might be able to encounter an angel on their next try.

▼ Time to press a button on the “Angels and Demons” row.

What came out, however, appeared to be neither an angel nor a demon, as the canister was ambiguous.

Even after looking inside, they weren’t sure whether they’d been visited by a demon or an angel, as they received six cheap candies that might’ve been worth around 100 yen. The dark hues on some of the packs, including the iconic Black Thunder chocolate, hinted at a devilish selection, but on the other hand, it was a pretty good deal.

▼ Curious to give it another try, Natsuno’s daughter pressed another button…

▼ …and out popped a canister with the word “Devil” printed on it in big red characters.

▼ What was inside?

▼ One puffed wheat snack.

This was definitely devilish – paying 100 yen to receive just one cheap puffed rice snack was a merciless move, and now they were more determined than ever to meet an angel.

▼ One more try.

▼ Success!

The progression from ambiguous canister through to devil and then angel was such a great progression that Natsuno felt it was almost as if there was someone inside the machine, reading the atmosphere and doling out excitement in increasing levels.

▼ The word “アタリ!” (“win!“) was also printed on the canister, adding to the sense of joy.

▼ So…let’s see what the angel delivered.

This was definitely a win, as it was the best result so far, with Natsuno estimating the total value to be more than 100 yen. Emboldened by this result, Natsuno and her daughter went for another try on the toy line, which seemed to present a better deal than the sweet options.

▼ If there’s a chance of winning something worth up to 300 yen, this is where they might get lucky.

▼ They were rewarded with two fun erasers from respected company Iwako, and a dinosaur egg.

Natsuno figured this bundle was worth over 200 yen. It wasn’t bad, but to be honest, she wouldn’t say it was worth 300 yen.

▼ After a total of six tries, here’s everything they received.

It may not have been a huge deal, but the real draw of the machine wasn’t a tangible product visible to the human eye. The real takeaway here was the fun and excitement of wondering what might come out of the machine, and that was worth way more than every deposit of 100 yen.

▼ There aren’t really any other places in the world where you can buy “peace and equality” for 100 yen.

▼ Judging by the containers in the return spot for reuse, there weren’t many angels that day either, so they felt extra blessed to have received one.

If you’d like to try your luck at the vending machine, it’s located under a sign for “NPO Aoringo” on a black building that reads “Ad Promote Co., Ltd.”and we’ve included the address for you below.

Ad Promote operates and stocks these machines, and according to its online shop, “Omoro Shokai” (“Fun Trading Company”), the Omoro vending machines ceased operations in January this year. That means this machine, which we visited in May, is the last of its kind in the country, so if you’re like us and love visiting weird and unusual machines, this is a stop worth putting on your itinerary.

Location information
Omoro Vending Machine / おもろー自販機
Address: Tochigi-ken, Oyama-shi, Awamiya 1-13-41
栃木県小山市粟宮1-13-41
Website

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