#C-pla Capsule Toy Shop Is the Best Gachapon Machine Source

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 near the departures gates and on the second floor arrival level. The subway stations often had some. As I’d walk through shopping districts, I’d sometimes see a batch outside of konbinis. The Bandai Namco store in one department store even had a section dedicated to them! But my best experiences with them had to involve the #C-pla line of stores, a type of shop I had no idea existed until I visited.

In short, a #C-pla is essentially home to hundreds of capsule toy gachapon machines, with each one being different. A number of them will be outside, with these tending to be some of the most notable or new varieties. When you first walk in, there will also be a dedicated row highlighting the latest releases. However, after that, they’re all grouped by theme. There’s a food aisle! There’s a video game section! One portion only featured anime characters! Simply put, you’re seeing them being used to create aisles that are three machines tall, all of them taking coins you pick up with yen, and it is possible to spend a shocking amount of time going through the selection.

When I saw my first one, I only intended to kill about fifteen minutes there. I was on my way to the Book Off in Shinsaibashi-suji, which opened at 10am JST, and I was a little early. I spent a half hour inside the #C-pla. I didn’t even buy that many items. (In retrospect, I regret not getting a Listerine charm, just because it was so out of left field.) It was more about just seeing what was there and how diverse the offerings could be. I was content to take pictures of all the neat things, because it was so overwhelming to have to decide and perhaps even curb my spending. These stores literally have absolutely everything. If there is a current and active gachapon machine toy you want, odds are it will be there.  

There were also two other perks to stopping by a #C-pla that I didn’t expect, but proved quite helpful even when I wasn’t hoping to find gachapon machines with capsule toys. The first is that each location had a currency exchanging machine available. The rates were fine, but I couldn’t get over how handy it was to be able to change $20 in US dollars to yen in a pinch. Especially since I did happen upon some spots in Shinsaibashi-suji that wouldn’t take a credit card and preferred cash or coins. 

The other is that each #C-pla I encountered also had a spot in the store where you could just sit back for a moment. These would usually be along a back wall and feature a stool in front of a cubby. They were designed to go through the capsule toys you’d picked up from the gachapon machines, of course, especially since each store would allow you to get rid of the capsules there. But it was also handy for generally regrouping for a moment while also going through my newest selections as I’d check a map, see if I had any messages, and go through the many, many coins I’d accumulated to see what I had left.

So if you ever happen upon a #C-pla store while in Japan, consider it an opportunity. You can find tons of incredible capsule toys in the gachapon machines within, which could mean neat novelties for yourself or souvenirs for someone else. And if you aren’t near one, but find you might be soon, the official app lets you check in to see what you might find. Just know that they are plentiful, with Shinsaibashi-suji in Osaka, Japan featuring two stores on that one street alone, so you could have lots of chances to check in if you’re visiting the country.