Gashapon, or ‘capsule machines’ are vending machines that dispense prizes in little plastic balls. I’ve always covered them during my Japan trip blogs, and it is interesting to see how more popular they are every time I visit.
That’s a photo taken outside an electronics store in Ikebukuro, showing the machines out on the street. Costing ¥300 to ¥500 a go (about $2-4) they offer a mind-boggling array of choices. Whereas 20 years ago these were almost always anime-related objects, now the machines can dispense almost anything.
Fancy a bike lock? A miniature champagne fountain? Tiny replica shoes? There’s a gatcha for you! But remember the prizes are random, and it may take a few goes to get the exact one you want.
Yesterday we visited a Gashapon ‘department store’ in Ikebukuro. And not just any store: the world largest, with an incredible three thousand machines. It was amazing, and very popular.
From Lipton tea keychains, to replica designer chairs, to Warhammer characters, the variety was awesome. Apparently the gashapon industry is thriving, and sales have increased every year with 2021 setting new records. The machines are everywhere and ‘played’ by people of all ages. Kristin and I weren’t even close to the oldest patrons of the shop we went to yesterday.
Ultraman rubber toys? Scale models of gas tanks or old Sega arcades? Go and find a gatcha!
A steampunk monocle? Tiny plastic donuts? What about a miniature model of a squid drying rack? All these can be yours for only a few hundred yen!
The store has a mini museum, showing the original gatcha (which contained Ultraman toys!) which looks almost exactly the same as the sort of vending machines we still have in the USA. Gatcha’s are expanding into other markets slowly, but currently remain a mostly Japanese obsession.
Here’s some of the premium machines, which offer larger and more detailed prizes for a premium price (¥1500). The selection in these isn’t quite as wide, but the quality is high. I think before we leave we may try one.
Miniature bento boxes? Australian animals? Clothing sets from a hit anime? I could showcase the options all day long and not run out, and I’m not even showing the large amount of anime and game-themed machines here. ¥100 yen coins in hand we walked around this place for an hour or so buying gatchas, and emerged with all this:
What’s in all the bubbles? We hardly remember, and as with previous trips we will likely keep these sealed until we return home. But you can bet it’s a lab eclectic mix of weird and wonderful.
There’s a lot more to see in Ikebukuro and yesterday we did. But once again I’ll leave this post focused and end with a shot of last nights dinner:
