Japanese figure skating star Yuzuru Hanyu and Winne-the-Pooh announce crossover merch line [Pics]

Pooh Shower tradition inspires over 100 crossover items.

Japan has tons of cool character merch, and the fun gets doubled when its part of a crossover, like when Hello Kitty teams up with the cast of Sesame Street, Yu-Gi-Oh, or Evangelion. Japan’s newest collaboration, though, isn’t between two fictional characters, but between one of Disney’s most beloved icons and one of the country’s biggest sports heroes.

Yuzuru Hanyu secured his status as Japan’s most celebrated male figure skater with back-to-back gold medals at the 2014 and 2018 Olympics. Before he was associated with the shine of Olympic gold, though, he was connected to bright yellow bear Winnie-the-Pooh. As far back as 2010, people started noticing that Hanyu had a Winnie-the-Pooh plushie-style tissue box rinkside during practices and competitions, and it became tradition for fans to shower the ice with stuffed animals of the character following his performances.

This October 14 will be the 100th anniversary of the release of the original Winnie-the-Pooh children’s book, and to celebrate, a series of Yuzuru Hanyu/Winnie-the-Pooh popup shops will be offering crossover merch of the pair.

Called Shower of Heart, evoking thoughts of the “Pooh Shower,” as fans have come to call the after-skate showering of gifts onto the ice, the merchandise line will consist of over 100 exclusive items. So far, the organizers have revealed that there’ll be acrylic standees…

…key holders/bag straps…

…and a special Winnie-the-Pooh plushie with an extra-classy shimmery-fabric shirt.

The Shower of Heart popup store tour starts in Tokyo at Shibuya Tsutaya from October 2 to 30, then heads to Kyoto’s Takashimaya S.C. (November 3-15), Nagoya’s JR Nagoya Takashimaya (November 18-29), Okayama’s Okayama Takashimaya (January 8-19), Fukuoka’s Hakata Hankyu (April 21-May 10), and, finally Sendai’s Fujisaki department store (May 27-June 8).