bank on technabob...

New from Japan – home of things too cute and strange to ever make it to American soil, comes TakaraTomy’s latest dose of sugary electronic goodness, the Panda Bank.

I’m not sure what these panda bears are doing with all of my Yen coins, but they appear to be quite happy, and they like to…

The Choken-Bako dog bank features a hyperactive dog for a teller. Just place your money on its bowl and it will “eat” it. Actually there’s a slot on the bowl that’s connected to the coin box; the dog’s mouth just pushes the money into the slot.

I don’t think the dog cares exactly what it…

Space Invaders fans, here’s a fun way to save your spare change – if you happen to live in Japan, that is.

This Space Invaders piggy bank looks just like a miniature cocktail table version of the classic arcade shooter. The 1/6th scale game has a tiny little version of the game on a built-in LCD screen.…

It’s a good week for saving money while playing games. If Tetris and Breakout aren’t your bag, you might want to try something even simpler, like Bankquest or Jinsei Ginko.

It seems that piggy banks that double as tiny gaming machines are quite the happening trend in Japan these days. These simpler banks offer a variety of…

Looking for a place to keep all that loose change you’ve been saving up since you gave up on tipping the baristas at the Starbucks? Keep ‘em all in this whimsical piggy bank that chows down on your coinage before it heads deep into its porty, porky belly.

As soon as you put a coin…

Those fortunate enough to live in Tokyo have recently sighted lifesize Coca-Cola robots wandering the streets. Now you can own your own miniature version of the wandering Coke robot for your desktop.

Combining robotics, Japanimation and caffeination, the Coca-Cola vending machine robot is the perfect embodiment of all things geeky. If regular Coke is too…

Put your cash in this bomb-shaped piggy bank and if you’re not a good saver, you’ll be punished. The electronic piggy bank waits for you to add coins too it every day. If you’re not consistent, it’ll explode, sending coins all over your desktop.

If you don’t add coins each and every day, the bank…

I think these goofy guys look more like space aliens than monsters, but you get the point. Put your money in the mouth of these Money Monsters and they’ll gulp it down without so much as a “thank you”.

While they might not be polite, that doesn’t mean the Money Monsters aren’t vocal. When you…

This rather silly invention out of Japan lets you count individual one Yen coins so you can save them up.

The TakaraTomy Life Bank One Yen Counter screws on the top of any bottle, and lets you count up your change.
Now keep in mind that a single Japanese Yen coin is worth just a…

Actually, there are no pigs involved in this bank. Rather, just another case of a bizarre gadget from the streets of Japan.

With its oddly misshapen wedge of of a head, Banpresto’s Face Bank is a rather disturbing looking device. Using an object sensor in its eyes, it detects your approaching hand and starts to…

These piggy banks from i-Kiddo are not only goofy looking, but they’re actually quite tech savvy.

The i-Panda and i-Piggy digiBanks automatically identify each coin placed in the bank, then calculate the total and display them on the bank’s LCD screen. The banks can also be programmed with savings goals and can play celebratory musical…

This cleverly designed piggy bank looks like a giant key from a computer keyboard, emblazoned with word “Save.”

The oversize plastic computer key (4.5″ x 4.5″ x 2.25″) serves as a constant reminder to save those spare coins you found under the couch cushion. The Auto Save Bank is just $10 from Uncommon Goods.
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