A bevy of gachas awaiting your hard-earned 200 yen.
ガチャガチャ。
gacha gacha "capsule machine."
Leaving the bookstore today, I stopped by the gacha gacha machines (quarter/50-cent toy/capsule machines) to have a look. Since I arrived in Japan 7 years ago these have always struck me as funny, weird, and wonderful.
The gacha (an onomatopoeic word for the sound made when turning the dial/lever) machines here often dispense very unexpected (from a typical American perspective, in my opinion) toys which are not really "toys"at all--in the "normal" sense. They are often collectibles, educational science figurines, or keychains of popular Kansai comedians, for example. Gacha is for adults and kids alike. Many of the toys are downright weird, and I love it.
Here are some examples:
Because why DON'T you need a gorilla in a sheep suit??
Learn your mushrooms with these unique collectible keychains/charms.
Need a pudding-head man to keep down the top of your half-eaten pudding in the fridge??? GO FOR IT!!!
Can you guess what the squirrels are eating?
Learn yer beetles, too!
Drink some saké with this Japanese cat!
This cat is in a rabbit suit. Kawaii!
This man is in a dog suit! Kawaii!
Anthropomorphized sushis! Kawaii!
Animal jungle gym!
Kawaii!!!!!!
(Kawaii means "cute," by the way.)
What are you waiting for. Go! Yes! Now! You! Get yer gacha on!
(Thanks for stopping by! If you missed the last Japan Photo Blog: "木曜日の夜。Thursday Night in a Sleepy City," you can find it here.)
~KafkA
Graham Smith is a Voluntaryist activist, creator, and peaceful parent residing in Niigata City, Japan. Graham runs the "Voluntary Japan" online initiative with a presence here on Steem, as well as Facebook and Twitter. (Hit me up so I can stop talking about myself in the third person!)
I wasted so much money on these things when I was in japan
Okay, just upvoting for the catchy, hilarious title! :D "Japanese weirdness!" hahaha!
We also have a lot of capsule machines in Korea. That reminds me my youth. Thanks!
Hello my friend
Happy day
Beautiful photography with high accuracy
Cheers, @mars9. Thanks! ✨
:)
Kaf ............. how many of these do you have? :)
Uhm....a....few.
I'm a kid when it comes to these... I even took the capsules back home instead of just getting rid of them !
I hope we will see also this machine in God's next year with my wife. We are planing to go to japan by the of january. Upvote and follow you
good..
my girls love this game....they have got a box full of these toys.....
Hey, @emilymichelle, that's great. Are you in Japan?
nope...I went japan for holiday few times,, and my girls want to play that everyday in difference cities!
That is so weirdly wonderful! Made me laugh the whole way through hahaha
Glad to hear it!
😂 I never thought I'd see the day where they actually have toy musibi. I do love eating them though! And the men in can suits 😂 This is awesome, who comes up with this stuff hahah thanks for making my day!
I see a gorilla in an alpaca suit! Also I'm sure my husband would love a Ginpachi in an cat suit. I had no idea they had Gintama gacha machines.
Ah! Good call! It is an alpaca suit!
To say that the gacha gacha machines are weird would be an understatement. But I quite like them! Thanks for sharing these pictures ;)
Looking forward to testing these myself. have a nice day)