A capsule toy (カプセルトイ, kapuseru toi) is a type of small vending machine in Japan, in which a user inserts a coin and turns the rotating lever to receive a released toy in a capsule. The term also refers to the actual toy that is released. As of 2023, with its diversification, active manufacturing of products and machinery as well as installation of wholesale machines, capsule toys are attracting attention as a new industry. Various names exist depending on the time period, region, and selling manufacturer, such as Gacha-Gacha, Gashakoko, Gachapon, Gashapon, Gacha, and P-cup, because these names are registered as trademarks by various companies.^[1] This article will use the term capsule toy.

Capsule toy is the generic term for miniature toys dispensed by capsule vending machines. There are also cases where products other than toys are included (as mentioned below). Each vending machine contains several different items (usually from the same series) and one of them is randomly dispensed.

Additionally, many capsules are partially transparent, allowing customers to see their contents, although some are not transparent and keep their contents a secret. These machines are operated by first inserting coins into the coin slot and then rotating the lever to dispense the product. Vending machines differ by the type and the number of coins they accept, such as the types of 10 yen (approximately 10 US cents), 50 yen, 100 yen, two 100 yen, and 500 yen. These prices are based on the value of the goods contained within the capsules sold by the machine. Besides, some models use special medal tokens sold separately instead of coins. In 2019 Bandai initiated the installation of Smart Gashapon machines that would accept electronic payments.^[2]

Capsule vending machines originate with small vending machines for gumballs that were first invented in the United States. They were eventually expanded to include the sale of small toys in capsule-shaped containers. This trend became popular in the United States. They were exported to Japan in 1965 from the United States and spread throughout the country in the 1970s.^[3]

As more manufacturers entered the market, the popularity of capsule toys continued to grow, especially with the introduction of licensed character-themed items in addition to original toys. They are often installed in candy stores and supermarkets, and there are often multiple machines in one location. With the rise in popularity of collectible figures, the variety of capsule toys has also increased significantly. Since the 2000s, there have been specialty stores that exclusively feature dozens to over one hundred capsule vending machines. Additionally, they are often installed in tourist destinations to offer local souvenirs and goods.^[4][5][6]

Unique examples of places where these machines have been installed include a train cabin of Wakayama Electric Railway's Toy Train as well as West Japan Railway's sightseeing Green Loop Bus. Furthermore, especially before COVID-19, they were also installed in departure lobbies of airports with many international flights, such as at Narita Airport and Kansai Airport. Since foreign currency exchange is generally limited to banknotes, these capsule vending machines were strategically placed so that travelers could use their unexchangeable 100 yen and 500 yen coins as a way to buy souvenirs.

There are vending machines where coins are inserted and a dial is turned to purchase items not contained in capsules. Examples include gumballs, superballs, and trading cards (especially those known as Carddass). There are also other types of vending machines where coins are inserted, just like regular vending machines. These boxed toy machines with mechanisms like pulling a lever, kiddie rides, game machines (guaranteeing a prize of equivalent value), and in the past, there were even life-size hero figure machines (with theme music playing as capsules were dispensed).

In the past, the encapsulated toys were mostly marketed towards kindergarten to mid-elementary school children, similar to products made by early capsule toy manufacturers in Japan, such as Value Merchandise (Nissho Boeki) and Cosmos. For example, there were erasers based on popular items and characters, such as supercars, Kaiju monsters, Kinnikuman, Super Deformed Gundam or other anime characters, and professional wrestlers. (Though, most of the time those "erasers" were just PVC rubber figures that did not actually erase.) Additionally, there are also machines that have a chance to dispense special prizes that are too large or valuable to be included directly within a capsule. In this case, the machine would dispense a winning capsule (or a winning ticket enclosed within a capsule) that can be exchanged at a store for the prize. For non-winning items, there are often participation prizes like Glico’s bonuses (similar to small toys previously common in cereal boxes in the U.S.). Subsequently, products like Bandai's Gashapon HG series helped capsule toys gain recognition in society, and other companies like Yujin joined in as well, resulting in numerous series becoming highly successful merchandise platforms. Since the late 1990s, the market has expanded to include not only children, but also older age groups, and the quality of merchandize has been improved (with slightly higher prices due to the higher quality). Since 2010, the primary reason for the price increase has been the rising manufacturing costs in China. While there are many niche and geeky products based on dramas, manga, anime, and games, there is also a wide variety of items ranging from traditional children's toys to realistic and surreal ones.

Furthermore, due to the growing societal awareness of promoting the healthy development of youth, companies have voluntarily been enforcing self-regulation by introducing age restrictions to limit the purchase of products featuring weapons or unsuitable character figures to ages 15 and above. However, age verification mechanisms are yet to be implemented in vending machines, allowing children below the age to purchase such items, which has raised concerns similar to those of adult magazine vending machines.

Since the 2000s, some capsule vending machines installed in tourist areas and specific regions have included limited-edition products (pins, straps, drawstring bags, coupons, etc.) as local goods.^[4][5][6] Japan Airlines (JAL) has previously offered limited edition capsule toys containing parts from retired aircraft.^[7]

Due to the nature of this sales format, buyers cannot choose the specific item of their choice. Instead, they often exchange duplicates with others to collect a complete set. Because of this practice, these types of toys are sometimes referred to as trading toys or trading figures, similar to items like collectible food toys, where customers also cannot choose the contents.

Stemming from the aforementioned randomized sales system, where the purchased items are not revealed until they are dispensed, video games, especially social network games, also began to sell non-physical, in-game items and characters in this lottery-style sales method. These game types and other systems across the internet are often referred to as XYZ-gacha, where the XYZ is substituted with such words as avatar, item, complete, and other product names. In later years, problems emerged concerning the gambling-like addictive nature of the system as well as excessive charges, and regulations were mandated to disclose the markup percentage between the cost and the charge. A similar system is called a loot box in English, which refers to a container or box from which players in video games can receive randomized virtual items.

In the 2020s, as a form of derivative youth language, slang, and internet jargon, there is also a term called XYZ-gacha (such as parent gacha, child gacha, physical height gacha, face gacha, work-assignment gacha, etc.), which signifies situations where individuals are unable to choose their own paths and where their lives are determined (or have been determined) by what is given.^[8][9][10]

• Kinder Surprise
• Gacha game