Mellojoy, an art toy brand that has built a growing following through social media, opened its first physical experience space in Japan, the Mellojoy Pop-Up Shop, in Harajuku, Tokyo, on September 9, 2026.

Courtesy of Mellojoy
Centered on the idea of “healing,” Mellojoy creates squishies with distinctive textures alongside its original character, Melloya. The brand has expanded its following through TikTok and other social media platforms, surpassing one billion impressions globally.

photo by ©FASHION HEADLINE
Texture is something that, by nature, cannot actually be felt through a screen. Yet Mellojoy has grown by using video to invite viewers to imagine precisely that sensation. Now, the brand is stepping beyond the digital world to create a place where visitors can see, touch, and experience its universe in person.

Why Are We Drawn to “Texture” Through a Screen?

At the heart of Mellojoy are squishies—toys designed to be pressed, stretched, and squeezed for the tactile pleasure they provide.

The brand’s distinctive textures, described with expressions such as “mochi mochi mochi” and “creamy cream,” have proved particularly suited to social media. The sight of a finger slowly pressing into a squishy, watching it return to its original shape, or seeing the soft material transform has become content in itself, helping Mellojoy reach audiences around the world.

Courtesy of Mellojoy
Behind these distinctly social-media-friendly visuals and tactile sensations, however, is a surprisingly analog approach to making. Each item is made from 100% food-grade silicone and individually finished by skilled artisans. At the core of Mellojoy’s digital-era appeal is a process rooted in handcraft.

From an Online World to a Physical Space in Harajuku

The Mellojoy Pop-Up Shop in Harajuku marks the brand’s first physical store in Japan. It is located approximately one to two minutes on foot from Tokyo Metro Meiji-jingumae ‘Harajuku’ Station and around six minutes from JR Harajuku Station.

Courtesy of Mellojoy
Rendered predominantly in pink, the interior feels like a three-dimensional realization of the Mellojoy universe previously encountered through a screen. The second floor features Mellojoy-themed decorative installations, a dedicated photo booth, and a product display wall, expanding the experience beyond simply picking up a product to seeing, touching, and photographing the brand’s world.

Courtesy of Mellojoy
There is something symbolic, too, about Harajuku being chosen as the setting for a trend born online to take physical form. A neighborhood that has long made successive generations of youth culture visible—from fashion and characters to street culture—now welcomes Mellojoy, a brand whose growth began on social media.

What Squishies Reveal About a New Kind of Trend

Discovering something new by scrolling through a smartphone screen has become part of everyday life. Yet one reason behind Mellojoy’s appeal may lie in something intensely physical that a screen can never fully convey: touch.

photo by ©FASHION HEADLINE
Discover it on social media, imagine the texture through a screen, then visit the store and touch it for yourself. That experience, in turn, returns to social media as photographs and videos.

The Mellojoy Pop-Up Shop is a place to get your hands on the squishies currently attracting so much attention. At the same time, it offers a glimpse into contemporary culture, where trends born online increasingly move into tangible, real-world experiences.