I am sure I mentioned these before - they look like sweet dispensers in the US where you put in a quarter and turn a little wheel and a bunch of sweets (I have seen jellybeans more than anything else) fall to the bottom for you to pick up. Except in the case of "capsule stations", things you get are usually non-edible but quite varied nonetheless: from countless different little figurines to straps with little characters for your phone to fridge magnets. They are literally everywhere in Akiba (秋葉原・秋葉) but I never thought I would see these in such huge numbers on the top floor of an electronics store, Yodobashi Camera in Kichijouji(吉祥寺).
See, one or two of them and I wouldn't turn my head I guess but in this case there were... well... 324 of them. Each one unique and dispensing different items from different themes from locations in Tokyo to different trains to anime characters. Of course each one is also neatly numbered so that you can remember where to keep putting money in so that you get all sorts of different characters from your favorite anime series :)
1 comment:
I remember seeing tons of these machines in Akiba when I visited too. Not surprising since Akiba is the land/shopping paradise for anime. But what was surprising was some figurines being ... somewhat rated. :P Especially surprising given I was there on a school trip as an instructor leading some undergrad students. :P
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