Figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu is globally renowned as Japan’s “ice prince.”
At only 19 years old, he became the first Asian man to ever win an Olympic gold medal in the discipline at the 2014 Sochi winter games. Hanyu then won a second consecutive gold at the 2018 Pyeongchang games, along with over 50 other medals across his shining skating career.
He is such a luminary in the skating world that he is often credited as the uncanny (but unofficial) inspiration for the title character of the award-winning sports anime Yuri!!! On Ice.
Yet there is another fictional character that holds Yuzuru Hanyu’s heart. Alongside his extraordinary athletic achievements, fans around the world also know him for a charmingly unique tradition: his deep, unwavering affection for Winnie the Pooh.
Now that the classic Hundred Acre Woods character is celebrating his centennial birthday, we’re looking back at the story behind the unexpected partnership between an Olympian and a “silly old bear.”
How the Rinkside Love Story Began
In Japan, Hanyu is synonymous with the bear.
He is never too far away from the bear: he brings him along to the ice rink during practices and competitions, and he’s even present in some media interviews. Even when sponsorship regulations such as those at the Olympics prohibit him from bringing his yellow teddy, Pooh stays faithfully waiting in the locker room.
Hanyu’s bond with Winnie the Pooh dates back to his early junior skating days. Figure skaters often keep tissues nearby as the cold air from the ice, combined with all the spins from their routines, causes their noses to run. Around the 2009-2010 season, in between feedback sessions with his coach, Hanyu was spotted with a tissue box with a cover featuring a Disney-style Pooh bear.
As Hanyu’s skills and following continued to grow, fans kept noticing the constant presence of the Pooh tissue box. In the 2011-2012 season, Hanyu upgraded to a bigger plushie-like Pooh tissue box case — and photos of him endearingly holding and playing with the teddy were immortalized as fans commented on how unbearably cute the moment was.
During the stressful period of his budding competitive skating career, Hanyu has mentioned that Pooh’s smile served as a constant symbol of comfort and reassurance amidst the high-pressure environment of figure skating competitions.
Pooh has attended nearly all of Hanyu’s major competitions. Over the years, Winnie the Pooh became Hanyu’s mascot and lucky charm.
Yuzuru Hanyu at the 2019–20 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Italy, being showered with Pooh plushies from fans after his free skate performance | Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
A Legendary Fan Tradition
What started as just a simple tissue box became a global movement.
Hanyu’s affinity for Pooh sparked one of figure skating’s most spectacular visual traditions. After every routine, as Hanyu struck his final pose and bowed to the crowd, hundreds of fans would throw Winnie the Pooh stuffed animals onto the ice rink. Within seconds, the ice surface would transform into a sea of red and yellow, requiring armies of junior skaters to help clear the ice.
The phenomenon became known as プーさんの雨 or “Pooh Rain.”
Instead of hoarding the thousands of Pooh bears he’s been showered with throughout the years, Hanyu has generously donated bagfuls of the plush toys to various local charities, children’s hospitals and communities in the host cities where he competed.
During the 2021 World Figure Skating Championships in Stockholm, the event was held without an audience as the world slowly emerged from lockdown. As Hanyu’s fans could not physically be there to toss their Pooh bears onto the rink, a Swiss fan started a campaign to raise money and send toys to Stockholm children in Hanyu’s honor. More fans joined the cause, and the campaign raised donations for the local children’s hospital and sent teddy bears to mothers and children living in domestic violence shelters.
Yuzuru Hanyu and Winnie the Pooh’s bond remains a beloved piece of figure skating history, symbolizing the warmth shared between an iconic athlete and his global fandom in the shape of a cuddly bear.
© Disney Based on the “Winnie the Pooh” works by AA Milne and EH Shepard
Yuzuru and Pooh’s New Anniversary Collection
This year, Winnie the Pooh is celebrating his milestone 100th anniversary. In commemoration of the debut of a globally cherished bear, Yuzuru Hanyu and Disney will release a long-awaited collaboration that is years in the making.
A beautiful made-to-order Pooh plushie and memory book are open for pre-orders on Amazon or Rakuten Books until October 20.
The bear will be dressed in miniature recreations of Hanyu’s own skating costumes: his “Seimei” free program costume, in which he broke several world records at the 2015 ISU Grand Prix Final; and his “Ballade No. 1” short program costume, which Hanyu wore for his 2014-2015 season. Both iconic costumes also made a comeback at the 2018 Pyeongchang games, when Hanyu won his second Olympic gold medal.
The interchangeable costumes were created under the supervision of Hanyu himself, and the designers who originally created his costumes, Satomi Ito and Nao Adachi. The toy’s tag has Hanyu’s signature, and a reproduction of Hanyu’s handwritten letter to Pooh is also packaged inside the set.
The To Pooh memory book is a 40-page piece showcasing Hanyu’s career and his story with Winnie the Pooh. It features exclusive interviews and new photo spreads of Hanyu at the Sendai Ice Rink where he usually practices.
The sets are expected to arrive at bookstores on May 27, 2027.
Shower of Heart is another upcoming collection, set to be released on October 2 (just in time for the anniversary of the original A. A. Milne novel Winnie-the-Pooh, which came out on October 14, 1926), will introduce 100 limited-edition items featuring the two icons. The lineup will include exclusive photographs and new illustrations, among a variety of goods such as toys, keychains, acrylic stands, T-shirts, tote bags and other collectibles.
Building hype for the anniversary and the collection’s release, Shower of Heart will also host pop-up events at six cities across the country.
Tour Schedule
- Tokyo: Shibuya Tsutaya (1st floor)
- October 2 – October 13
- 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. (closes at 7:00 p.m. on the last day)
- Tokyo: Shibuya Tsutaya (basement floor)
- October 14 – October 30
- 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. (12:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on the first day, ends at 7:00 p.m. on the last day)
- Kyoto: Kyoto Takashimaya SC department store (7th floor)
- November 3 – November 15
- 10:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m (closes at 5:00 p.m. on the last day)
- Aichi: JR Nagoya Takashimaya (10th floor)
- November 18 – November 29
- 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (closing at 5:00 p.m. on the last day)
- Okayama: Okayama Takashimaya (8th floor)
- January 8 – January 19
- 10:00 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. (closing at 4:00 p.m. on the last day)
- Fukuoka: Hakata Hankyu (7th floor)
- April 21 – May 10
- 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (closing at 5:00 p.m. on the last day)
- Miyagi: Fujisaki Main Building (7th floor)
- May 27 – June 8
- 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. (until 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, closes at 5:00 p.m. on the last day)
For more information and event updates, please check the website.
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- News Roundup: Tributes Pour in for Yuzuru Hanyu as He Retires from Competition
- Figure Skating Duo Riku-Ryu Announce Engagement
Updated On August 28, 2026
