Bandai Flat Gashapon Machines, Tokyo

Bandai's Flat Gashapon machines dispense flat, card-style capsule toys for 500 yen a turn, a format the company introduced as a space-saving alternative to traditional round capsules. Bandai launched the original Gashapon system in 1977, and the machines remain a fixture of arcades, train stations, and hobby shops across Japan. Each unit typically holds a themed set tied to a specific anime or media franchise, with contents rotated every few weeks to keep pace with new releases. The machines run on a hand-crank mechanism rather than batteries, requiring only coins and a quarter turn of the handle to release a capsule.

Photo taken in March 2023.