Around 500 capsule-toy machines line the walls of this narrow shop, from floor to the ceiling, dispensing miniature sushi, crouching office workers, replica vending machines and whatever a toy maker in Osaka dreamed up last month. Gachapon are a Japanese art form in their own right, and this is the most concentrated place to see the whole spectrum for a few hundred yen a turn.
Walk the full length before spending anything, since the newest machines are marked with coloured tags and sell out within days. Bring a coin purse, a tolerance for duplicates and a free hand, because the capsules add up. It sits a block north of Mandarake and is a natural pairing.
Tips
- Machines take 100-yen coins only, and there is a change machine inside, so bring notes rather than cards
- The oddest series, tiny bento boxes, sleeping cats and miniature shrine gates, are usually near the back
- Keep the small capsule inserts, which list the full set, if you want to trade duplicates with other collectors