"If Japanese toys are normally like pure unrefined coca leaves, then Gachapon are crack: a cheap addictive high bound to lead you to ruin", so says the book Cruising the Anime City, An Otaku Guide to Neo Tokyo. I couldn't have said it better myself actually. Gachapon are small toys that are dispensed in plastic capsules from vending machines. The sheer variety of Gachapon toys is overwhelmin
g. I personally saw figurines ranging from the ubiquitous Hello Kitty, to tiny sushi replicas, and even to little models of... um... certain parts of the female anatomy. In 2007 Jen and I finally made it to Tokyo, which is arguably the motherland of cool toys. As part of our pilgrimage we decided to seek out the hallowed halls of Akihabara Gachapon Kaikan. This parlor of floor to ceiling vending machines is a sight to behold. When you are in this place it is easy to watch your time, and your yen, flitter away like cherry blossom petals in the spring.
For me, the best way to remember the experience was to bring home Gachapon toys of the machines that dispense Gachapon toys. These mini machines actually dispense little plastic capsules themselves. So head on over to the Artifacts gallery of the Cabinet of Curious Frivolities get a better look at the Gachapon machine capsule toys.
Full steam ahead.
No comments:
Post a Comment