Picking a single favorite Star Wars item from Japan is simply impossible. There are so many great and unique items that I am constantly thinking of another one to top what I have just thought of. So I am going to cheat and pick an entire promotion.

One of the earliest promotions for Star Wars in Japan was from the candy company Morinaga. The colorful candy boxes each came with a "Cracker Jack" style prize. The great (or frustrating) thing about the prizes is that there are dozens of different ones, and the collecting community occasionally finds a new one that was not generally known about.

The set consists of diverse styles of products from the obvious (mini figures & ships) to the obscure (combs & pill boxes). There are puffy vinyl tags with Star Wars art, pinbacks in a myriad of colors & styles, and even a set of rub-down transfers that were originally used as premiums for a sausage company in the United Kingdom. Perhaps the most unusual are the tiny cone-shaped plastic photos that sit on a ball bearing so they can be rolled across a table. Definitely fun to have and challenging to collect. -- Duncan Jenkins