Japan’s capsule toy industry has come a long way from the corner of the supermarket, as it enjoys a new boom at home that is spurring multiple market players to set their sights on overseas expansion.

First imported from America in 1965, capsule toys – or gachapon – really caught the Japanese imagination in the 1970s and rapidly spread across the country. The machines were initially set up in front ...

Bandai Namco will open its flagship Gashapon capsule toy store in Ikebukuro on February 26, 2021. The store will offer a wide variety of capsule toys, including many store-exclusives. The store will ...

Japan has a well-deserved reputation as the world’s most enthusiastic country when it comes to vending machines. In downtown Tokyo, it seems like you can find a machine selling drinks on just about ...

There really does seem to be a capsule toy for everything in Japan these days, but maker Qualia has been on a roll with pushing the creative envelope, with their gacha or gashapon capsule toys of ...

No longer catering only to children, a store in Tokyo's Harajuku district offering about 1,700 capsule toy dispensers on its two floors drew Jo Hyeon-jeong in a recent day. The 25-year-old South ...

Capsule toy machines, better known as gashapon in Japan, are a fun way to use up your loose coins. Plus, the treasures hidden inside these plastic ‘eggs’ often make for great souvenirs, ranging from ...

Before I visited Japan, I always had the idea that the gachapon capsule toy machines were really plentiful. I expected I’d see them everywhere. This proved mostly true! The KIX airport had some both ...

BANDAI, the Japanese toymaker that’s enjoying a growth spurt for anime characters, collectible cat figurines and other miniature goods sold in plastic capsules, will open more stores abroad to ...