Why Japanese Capsule Toys (Gachapon) Are So Popular with Tourists in Asakusa
While walking around Asakusa, I came across a small scene I’d like to share with you.
As I was wandering through Nakamise Street, I noticed a woman who looked genuinely excited about something.
“What’s making her so happy?” I wondered.
When I shifted my gaze, I realized she was standing in front of something very familiar to us in Japan — a gachapon machine.
I usually call it gachagacha, because that’s what I’ve called it since I was a kid, but maybe capsule toy is easier to understand.
Are capsule toys something unique to Japan?
For us, they’re so ordinary that we hardly think about them.
In my mind, capsule toys have always been small toys that kids enjoy, or something anime fans — or “otaku,” as we say in Japan — tend to buy.
After the woman walked away, I took a photo of the capsule toy machine.
It turned out that the items inside were very “Japan-like.”
There were small magnets featuring Mount Fuji painted by Katsushika Hokusai, a famous ukiyo-e artist from the late Edo period.
There were also tiny drawstring pouches illustrated with scenes of Asakusa.
They cost around 300 to 400 yen, which makes them easy to try.
Being able to get something so Japanese at such an affordable price suddenly made me understand why capsule toys are so appealing to international visitors.
Plus, you never know what you’ll get — that sense of surprise adds to the fun.
And if you get the item you were hoping for, it feels even more special.
Next time, I might try asking an international visitor to actually try a capsule toy and film the moment.
Posting it on Instagram or TikTok could be fun — I feel like it might do well.
The problem is… I can’t really speak English.
But maybe that awkwardness could be part of the story too.
Thanks for reading today. See you again!
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