At the end of last year I visited Japan for the second time and I wanted to make it a point to visit the Candy Candy Museum. Candy Candy is a Japanese anime, centering around a young girl named Candy as she navigates growing up as an orphan. Like many people around my age, I would see old reruns on tv and I knew that my mom was a huge fan as well. She has told me before that she grew up watching the show when she was a young girl in Mexico and that she was obsessed with it. I have also come across videos on tik tok of girls surprising their moms with Candy Candy merch or throwing them Candy Candy themed birthday parties. This peaked my curiosity and I wanted to do my research as to why an anime seemed to be so popular in a completely different country.
Turns out the broadcasting rights for the show were low, making it affordable entertainment for Mexican television networks to broadcast. Additionally, the show had the same format as telenovelas, which hooked young audiences. The show had themes that young girls could relate to like friendship, jealousy, and love. It became a staple for young girls in the 70's and 80's, gaining cultural relevance all over the world.
Sepia Cafe in Katsushika City, where the museum is located, was an hour train ride from Tokyo city. We made the mistake of going on a Saturday because it was packed but still worth, especially once we got inside. It is a quaint cafe that feels frozen in time with retro decor and vintage toys filling the walls. The food was not only insanely cute but delicious and there was a page in the menu dedicated to different flavored melon sodas. What I was mainly there for though was the Candy Candy Museum that lives upstairs above the cafe. If I remember correctly I think I paid around 5 USD for admission to the museum.
I was so insanely impressed with the collection of merchandise that is in the Museum. There was literally everything you could think of from manga, toys, clothing, bags, glasses, and even framed original artwork from the show. One that that stood out to me was that a lot of the stuff was unopened and its original packaging, making it so much more rare and impressive considering how old a lot of the items were. As someone who is a collector and gets very passionate about my interests, I could recognize how much love and attention went into curating this collection. Because of a lawsuit between the manga artist and writer of Candy Candy, the manga is out of print and to my knowledge there is no new officially licensed merch in production anymore. The show lives on with it's dedicated fanbase, and this museum is proof of its cultural impact.
Turns out there is one person we have to thank for the existence of this museum. Candy H Milky, who sadly passed last year, was a Candy Candy superfan. They were always dressed in a Candy inspired red outfit. They took matters into their own hands to preserve the history of the show and created the Candy Candy Preservation Society, where they acted as the chairman, the director of the museum, and pretty much the only active member. Their dedication and passion about a show most people don't think much about is so inspiring to me as someone who runs a blog for a niche part of the internet. There is an amazing mini documentary on YouTube if you'd like to hear more about Candy H Milky. They will forever be immortalized in the museum and also their face is imprinted right next to Candy's if you order the pancakes from Sepia Cafe. I definitely recommend visiting both the cafe and the Museum if you are visiting Japan. It was a highlight of my trip and I was so happy I got the chance to document it and share it with you all here on the blog. Would love to hear in the comments if you grew up watching the show!
