Utamin music toy is one cute instrument

If you’re bored of regular musical instruments and want something fresh to stimulate your creativity, the new music toy from Takara Tomy might be right up your alley. Called Utamin, this cute little device is shaped like some weird creature and is packed with speakers, buttons and an infra red sensor. Users can play music with it by waving their hands in front of the sensor – depending on the distance between their hand and the toy, Utamin will play a different note.

Different sounds from different instruments can be selected by pushing buttons on the side of the toy, and for those who are less musically inclined or just lazy to play their own tunes, Utamin comes with modes that can playback preprogrammed melodies and tunes, including nursery rhymes. The Utamin can also pair up with another Utamin to play music together. No word on whether Utamin will be sold in the US, but it’ll be available in Japan from mid November.