September 29, 2025

Lala the Penguin With a Backpack and a Job

How a rescued king penguin became Japan’s most beloved grocery shopper.

Most pets dream of treats and naps. Lala dreamed of errands.

In the 1990s, in a quiet fishing village in Japan, locals would see an unusual commuter waddling through town each morning — a king penguin wearing a tiny blue backpack. He wasn’t lost. He wasn’t part of a parade. He was on his way to work.

His name was Lala, and every day he walked himself to the local fish market to pick up groceries for his family.

Lala’s story began in 1986, when he was found tangled in a fishing net off the coast of Japan. A local fisherman named Mr. Nishimoto rescued the injured chick and brought him home to recover.

The plan was to help him heal, then release him back into the wild. But Lala had other ideas.

He bonded with the family dog, and claimed his own room. He insisted... quite literally on air conditioning. He would refuse to sleep unless someone angled the AC unit directly at him like a personal wind machine. At some point, the Nishimoto family simply accepted reality: "guess we have a penguin now."

To keep Lala entertained, the family began taking him on walks through town. Soon, he memorized the route to the local fish market. And then somehow he took over the job entirely.

Every morning, Lala would leave the house wearing his custom-made penguin backpack. He would waddle past neighbors who greeted him like a friendly postman, stop at the market, and wait patiently at the counter while the fishmonger filled his bag with sardines and mackerel.

He was polite. He was reliable. He never forgot the order.

And after a quick snack, he would head straight home with groceries in tow, just like any dependable member of the household.

News crews eventually caught wind of Lala’s routine, and he became a national icon. Videos of his daily commute aired on Japanese television, and decades later, they still resurface online, delighting anyone who secretly wishes their pet could contribute more than shedding.

Lala passed away in 1998, but his memory lives on not just as a viral clip, but as something far more tender: A reminder that love, when given freely, even to an animal no one expected to keep, can grow into habits, rituals, and responsibilities that feel as natural as family.

Not many pets are remembered as neighbors. Lala was.

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