What is Gacha? Introducing the Best Gachapon Shops in Tokyo

Gacha has become a worldwide phenomenon originated from Japan. From its humble origins as capsule toys dispensed from vending machines, it has made a huge impact on gaming and pop culture. In this article, we will explore the original gacha, its significance in Japanese culture, gacha games, and the biggest gacha shops in Japan. 

Table of Contents

1. What is Gacha?
2. What are Gacha Games? 
   1. Popular Japanese Gacha Games 
3. Gacha in Japanese Culture
   1. Anime Gacha
   2. Character Gacha
   3. Illustration Gacha
   4. Miniature Gacha
4. Biggest Capsule Toy Companies in Japan
5. Biggest Gachapon Shops in Tokyo
6. 1000 Yen Premium Gacha 

What is Gacha?

Gacha (ガチャ) refers to small toys, figurines or trinkets dispensed from vending machines in a plastic capsule. These vending machine capsule toys are popular among children and collectors. The name Gacha is derived from the onomatopoeia “gacha gacha (ガチャガチャ)”, meaning “clatter”, “clank”, or “rattle”, which is the sound made when the machine is cranked to release the toy and also the sound the capsule makes as it exits the machine. 

Gacha machines can be found in various locations such as arcades, gacha specialist stores, shopping malls, train stations, and even on the streets. Gacha is essentially a game of luck. Each machine offers a selection of prizes in plastic capsule balls, and players can’t tell what toy they will get until they open the capsule. 

“Gachapon” vs “Gashapon” vs “Gacha” vs “Gacha Gacha”

What are the differences between these terms? They all refer to the same thing, aka capsule toys. However, in Japan, the terms “Gashapon”, “Gachapon”, and “Gacha Gacha” are trademarked by Bandai Co., Ltd., while “Gacha” is trademarked by Takara Tomy Arts Co., Ltd.. 

So what is the proper Japanese term for capsule toys that everyone calls “gacha”? It is actually「カプセルトイ kapuseru toi」, simply the katakana for English “capsule toy”. But generally people simply call them by their trademarked names.

※ Trademark Search conducted on J-PlatPat (Japan Platform for Patent Information)

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What are Gacha Games? 

Gacha games are video games that incorporate a game mechanic in which players spend virtual currency or real money to obtain a randomised virtual item or character. 

Sounds familiar? That’s because gacha games’ game mechanics are based on the gacha capsule toy vending machines in Japan. Just like gacha games, gacha capsule toy vending machine players turn a crank to receive a random reward. 

Gacha games have become increasingly popular in recent years, particularly on mobile platforms. These games have become a lucrative industry in Japan and around the world, with many popular games generating millions of dollars in revenue.

Popular Japanese Gacha Games

Let me introduce you to some of the most popular games from Japan, many of which are mobile Gacha games. 

Fate/Grand Order (FGO)

A role-playing mobile game based on the Fate/Stay night franchise, Fate/Grand Order follows an original plot in which the player assumes the role of a "Master," leading a team of powerful "Servants" through time and space to prevent the destruction of humanity caused by distortions in time known as "singularities." The game's story is divided into chapters, each featuring unique historical and mythical figures, such as Jeanne d’Arc and King Arthur. The player battles against enemies to restore history and prevent the singularities from destroying the past, present, and future of humanity.

The gacha feature in FGO allows players to use in-game currency called “Saint Quartz” to summon Servants and items. Saint Quartz can be bought with real money or collected by completing quests and missions. Servants and items are ranked from 1 Star to 5 Stars, with 5 Stars being the rarest and strongest. 

Website : (US server) https://fate-go.us/ / (JPN server) https://www.fate-go.jp/

Granblue Fantasy (GBF)

© Cygames, Inc.

Granblue Fantasy is a popular role-playing turn-based game developed by Cygames for mobile devices and web browsers. Players assume the role of a Skyfarer, battling monsters in a vast and immersive world. The game has a rich storyline and diverse characters, with spin-offs, merchandise, and collaborations with other franchises. The game's popularity has earned it a dedicated fanbase in Japan and around the world. Granblue Fantasy has been praised for its engaging gameplay, stunning visuals, and compelling narrative.

The gacha feature in GBF allows players to obtain characters, weapons, and summons using in-game currency. There are 2 types of in-game currency in GBF; coins which are purchased using real money, and crystals which are obtained through gameplay, events, and daily logins. 

Website : https://granbluefantasy.jp/en/

Princess Connect Re:Dive 

Princess Connect Re:Dive is a popular mobile role-playing game developed by Cygames. It is the sequel game to its prequel game “Princess Connect!” that discontinued service in 2016. In Re:Dive, players follow a group of adventures on quests, battling monsters and discovering secrets in the world of Astraea. 

The gacha system in Princess Connect Re:Dive allows players to use “Jewel”, purchased with real money or collected from completing quests and progressing the storyline, to draw new characters, weapons, and items. 

Website : https://www.crunchyroll.com/games/princessconnectredive/index.html

Hatsune Miku: Colourful Stage!

Hatsune Miku: Colourful Stage!, known as “Project Sekai: Colorful Stage! feat. Hatsune Miku” in Japan, is a rhythm game developed by Crypton Future Media for mobile devices. The game features Hatsune Miku and other Vocaloid characters, as well as game original characters. Players tap, slide, and hold the screen in time with the music to score points and clear Vocaloid songs.

The game’s gacha system allows players to use in-game currency called “Coins” to obtain characters, as well as costumes and accessories for characters to wear. Coins can be bought with real money, or collected by completing songs and challenges. 

Website: (Global server) https://www.colorfulstage.com/ / (JPN server) https://pjsekai.sega.jp/

Uma Musume 

© Cygames, Inc.

Uma Musume is a mobile gacha game and anime series created by Cygames. The game features anthropomorphic horse-girls, known as "Uma Musume," who race against each other in virtual horse races. The gameplay involves training Uma Musume to improve their racing abilities, managing their stamina, and selecting the right strategies for each race.

The gacha system in Uma Musume allows players to draw new Uma Musume characters and items to enhance their abilities. The in-game currency is called “Jewels” which can be purchased with real money or collected by completing quests and obtaining achievements. 

Uma Musume is one of the most popular gacha games in Japan. It has a dedicated fanbase and numerous spin-off media, including manga, novels, and anime adaptation. Unfortunately, there is no news of a global release, as yet. 

Website : https://umamusume.jp/

Not Japanese Gacha Games

Genshin Impact and Honkai Impact are popular gacha games that many people think are Japanese because the title is read in Japanese, both titles are actually Chinese productions. Another popular gacha game that many people think is Japanese is Arknights, because the characters are voiced in Japanese. 

All 3 titles are popular in Japan and worldwide and contain gacha aspects to summon characters. 

Gacha in Japanese Culture 

Gacha is a huge part of Japanese pop culture. In Japan, they are often used to sell merchandise tied to popular anime, video games, books, illustrators, characters, and just some random interesting ones. Gacha capsule toys can be anything from acrylic stands, mini plushies, keychains, figurines, etc. there is no limit to the creativity of what can be made. The price range is also wide from cheap 100 yen ones to premium 1000 yen ones. 

Collecting gacha toys has become a popular hobby, and some rare or highly sought after toys can fetch high prices on the secondary market, like Mercari or Yahoo! Auctions. 

Let’s have a look at some of the types of gacha you can find around Japan. 

Anime Gacha

Anime Gacha are gacha that are based on a popular anime series. The more popular the anime series, the higher the chances of it being made into a gacha capsule toy, and the more variety of designs and items available. Behold some of the examples below.

Kimetsu no Yaiba (Demon Slayer) Gacha

Chibi Demon Slayer character keychains that look as if they’re being held up. You can also attach them to each other to form a long chain. 

© 吾峠呼世晴／集英社・アニプレックス・ufotable ©BANDAI

Tokyo Revengers Gacha - Mini Plushies

©和久井健・講談社／アニメ「東京リベンジャーズ」製作委員会 © BANDAI

Jujutsu Kaisen Gacha

Phone charms of the main characters from Jujutsu Kaisen in chibi form. This design is really popular, so other designs have been made too including for the movie - “Jujutsu Kaisen 0”. 

© 芥見下々／集英社・呪術廻戦製作委員会 © KITAN CLUB Co., Ltd.

Cardcaptor Sakura Gacha

Cardcaptor Sakura is a popular anime and manga series by manga artist group, CLAMP. It is well-known for its beautiful outfit designs. Many fans of Cardcaptor Sakura went wild when news of this gachapon was released. The below is the third release of the Cardcaptor Sakura outfits gacha series, the previous two releases were extremely popular. 

© CLAMP © BANDAI

Sailor Moon Gacha

Collaborations are also popular in gacha, take this Sailor Moon Eternal X Sanrio Characters collaboration key charms for example. So cute! 

© Sanrio © Naoko Takeuchi © Bandai

Pretty Cure 

Sky Tones that are inserted into the Sky Mirage to help Pretty Cures transform. The Sky Mirage is available to get at a different gacha set here. 

 ©ABC-A・東映アニメーション© Bandai

Character Gacha

Character Gacha are gacha that are based on popular characters from various franchises - illustrations, video game characters, mascot characters (yuru chara), storybook characters, cartoon characters, and more. 

Popular franchises include Sanrio, Sumikko Gurashi, Pokemon, Kirby, and more. 

Sanrio Characters Gacha

Pompompurin, Melody, Hello Kitty and Cinnamoroll go swinging on these swing gachas. 

© Sanrio © Bandai

Kirby Gacha - Reusable Shopping Bag

©Nintendo / HAL Laboratory,Inc. KB22-P4075 © KITAN CLUB Co., Ltd.

Pokemon Gacha

Pokemon Pallete Colour Collection is a series of Pokemon gacha with each set featuring 5 pokemon of the same colour. Below is the Green collection with Bulbasaur, Chikorita, Celebi, Larvitar, and Politoed. 

At time of writing, other colour collections include Pink, Yellow, Purple, Blue, Orange and Brown. 

© 2020 Pokémon. © 1995-2020 Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK inc. © KITAN CLUB Co., Ltd. 

PEANUTS Snoopy Gacha - Water Globe 

© PEANUTS Worldwide LLC © Bandai

Illustration Gacha

Many Japanese illustrators and creators post their works on social media like Twitter and Instagram. Some of them find success in creating a brand of character(s), or get companies to make their design into actual products. Gacha is one of the ways these illustrators and creators can promote their merchandise and works, and to gain revenue for other projects. 

Tanuki to Kitsune - Cup Sleeve 

Tanuki to Kitsune started off as a comic illustration on Twitter but has become incredibly popular in Japan. Their merchandise are almost always available in Loft stores, and they have officially published books as well. 

© ATAMOTO / FW © KITAN CLUB Co., Ltd.

Mitiru - Okonomiyaki Pencil Sharpeners

Mitiru is a creator who designs interesting everyday items and posts them on social media. Some of his designs have successfully been made into actual products, like this Okonomiyaki Pencil Sharpener whose shavings look like bonito flakes. 

Twitter Link

You can read more about Mitiru’s interesting designs here. 

Chiikawa Gacha - Sanrio Collaboration Figurine

Chiikawa is another comic series that was originally posted on Twitter but has now achieved nationwide popularity. In the past year especially, Chiikawa pop-up shops, collaboration cafes, and merchandise have increased in number. 

Chiikawa has become so popular that even big character company Sanrio is collaborating with them. 

Miniature Gacha

Miniatures are super popular in Japan. There are many miniature creators, some of them famous even overseas, like Tanaka Tatsuya. In fact, in Japan, miniatures are a huge presence in the gacha industry. Miniature animals, food, vehicles, weapons, rooms, etc. can be found. Even big brands like Nescafe and Lipton join in as a method of advertising. 

Some miniatures may make you do a double take and wonder “who would want that?”

Gindako Gacha - Miniature Takoyaki Charms 

© 築地銀だこ © Bandai

Emergency Buttons

Safety Box

Toilet & Tissue Paper

Bakery Shop Bread Displays

Intrigued by the world of miniatures? We have actually covered several famous miniature creators that you can read about here:

• A New World of Miniatures by Tanaka Tatsuya

• Bonne Chance* Yuri Taking Miniatures to Another Level

• Moe’s Mart, An Itsy Bitsy Convenience Store

Biggest Capsule Toy Companies in Japan

There are around 30 capsule toy companies in Japan. Among them, the biggest gacha capsule toy companies are Bandai followed by Takara Tomy Arts. Other big players include Kitan Club. These companies produce a wide range of capsule toys, though some of them specialise in a particular type of capsule toys. 

※ ガチャガチャ・ガチャポンラボ, “【日本のガチャガチャ事情】2019年のガチャガチャ業界を読み解く”

Bandai

Bandai is a Japanese toy and game company that is well-known around the world. Founded in 1950, the company has since produced a wide range of products, from arcade gaming machines to video games to figurines. In the capsule toy industry, Bandai holds the largest share in the market. Their capsule toys are called “Gashapon” but their trademark also includes “Gachapon” and “Gacha Gacha”.

Bandai has what they call, “Gashapon Department Stores” across Japan that hold hundreds and thousands of capsule toy machines, worth visiting if you want to get in on the gacha action. Bandai is particularly famous for its anime merchandise, and of course when it comes to capsule toys as well. 

Website : https://gashapon.jp/ / https://us.gashapon.jp/

Takara Tomy A.R.T.S

Takara Tomy A.R.T.S. is a Japanese company that specialises in the production of all types of toys including capsule toys, stuffed toys, and candy toys. It is a major player in the capsule toy industry, second only to Bandai, producing a wide range of capsule toys. Just like Bandai, Takara Tomy A.R.T.S. has a trademark for its own line of capsule toys called “Gacha”. They also have many licences for anime capsule toys. 

Website : https://www.takaratomy-arts.co.jp/items/gacha/

Kitan Club

Kitan Club is a Japanese company that specialises in the production of unique and quirky capsule toys. The company was established in 2006 and has since become known for its creative and unconventional designs. Kitan Club does not produce many anime gacha. Instead, they are better known for character gacha, and often feature popular characters in unexpected situations. They also make capsule toys that cover a wide range of themes, such as animals and food to mythical creatures. The company's products are popular among collectors and fans of Japanese pop culture, and they are often sought after for their high-quality and imaginative designs. 

One of their particularly popular capsule toys series is「ねこのかぶりもの neko no kaburimono」which is “hats for cats”. Another popular series they have created is「PUTITTO」and「コップのフチ子 koppu no fuchiko」, meaning “Fuchiko on Cup”; both series are cup figures which are figurines that balance on cup rims. 

Website : https://kitan.jp/

Biggest and Best Gachapon Shops in Tokyo

In this part, we will introduce the best places and shops to visit in Tokyo for some gacha-ing. 

Ikebukuro Gashapon Department Store Ikebukuro 「ガシャポンのデパート池袋総本店」

© Bandai Namco Amusement Inc.

Located inside Ikebukuro’s Sunshine shopping mall is the world’s biggest capsule toy store by Bandai - “Gashapon no Depato Ikebukuro Souhonten” or “Gashapon Department Store Ikebukuro Main Store”. The large-scaled store holds over 3,000 gashapon vending machines and has the largest and latest lineup of Bandai capsule toys. If there’s a particular gacha item you are looking for, there is a high chance of finding it here. 

Akihabara Gachapon Hall 「秋葉原ガチャポン会館」

© otacky

Akihabara, well known as the hub of anime and otaku in Tokyo, is one of the best places to find gacha machines. One of them is Akihabara Gachapon Hall which is popular with gacha enthusiasts because of its membership point system and lucky draws. Every month they post a calendar on their website for gacha machines that are eligible for the lucky draw. Winners of the lucky draw can get to roll one round for free! 

Shinjuku Yodabashi Camera Gashapon Kan 「ガシャポン館」

Adjacent to the Yodabashi Camera at Shinjuku Station’s West Exit is a Gashapon Kan with over 500 gacha machines all on one floor. Most gacha stores have around 200 to 300 machines available, so this is a fairly large number. Not just quantity, there are also various types of capsule toys so take your time exploring and playing. 

Shibuya Dream Capsule「ドリームカプセル」

Located on the 5th Floor of MAGNET by SHIBUYA109 overlooking iconic Shibuya Scramble Square is Dream Capsule. Dream Capsule is a chain of capsule toy stores. Their Shibuya store has around 400 machines for visitors to browse and shop. Located in a prime area, their items sell fast which means lineups are refreshed every month. They get over 200 new products each refreshing. 

1000 Yen Premium Gacha 

Gacha are generally reasonably priced ranging from 100 yen to 500 yen. But, did you know there is also premium gacha that costs 1000 yen, or even 2000 yen, a turn? The machines may look like a typical gacha vending machine, or may look like lockers. The grand, or top 3, prizes are usually luxurious goods that can be branded products, a game console, or even Wagyu beef! It is a huge bummer however if you lose out and get something cheap like a handkerchief or cards. 

Would you dare take the chance?