I remember as a kid I used to watch Doraemon on TV1 every evening at 6.30 p.m. without fail. The blue robotic cat from the future and his pouch full of tricks always had to rescue his hapless ward Nobita. This along with funny supporting characters like Giant were a recipe for laughter and awe for us kids.

Doraemon’s mega-popular status as a Japanese cultural icon has seen him grace magazine covers, selected by Time Magazine as one of 22 Asian Heroes (I have the issue..somewhere) and have tonnes of merchandize in his name and likeness.

A recent addition to Doraemon-merchandize-mania would be Taito’s Doraemon cushions. The cushion depicts Doraemon as hiding in one of those playground tubes with his head sticking out. Check out the product description:

The tubes that are placed in the playground provided a lot of potential places for children to hide, however, when it was Doraemon’s turn to hide in it, he only hid his body, leaving his face, hands and bottom out in full view. Give his limbs a tweak or a squeeze when you feel particularly mischievous.

The ear-less robotic cat is very much at home in his metal tube, he also thinks that he is very well hidden, look at his relaxed, or snickering expressions. But doubtlessly, as a bright eyed person, you have spotted him and is ready to catch him. Leave him in the tube, he makes a wonderful cushion for your sore back this way.

The cushions are available at USD 19.90 each. Click here for purchase information.