
Fuchiko the gachapon capsule toy office lady seems to have a knack for always getting herself into strange situations. She’s wrapped herself in sushi, fooled around with Tuxedo Mask, and has been caught red-handed… sitting in some fold-up chairs.
Of course Fuchiko is not the only cup/bowl caddy that you can get out of a capsule toy dispenser. The company that makes her has teamed up to do collaborations before, and their most recent one is by far their most unusual. Instead of choosing another anime or manga character, they went with the bizarre Tower of the Sun building from Osaka.
If you’ve never heard of the Tower of the Sun, then before you do anything else, take a look at it:
▼ It’s… fantasti-confusing!

The Tower of the Sun was originally built for the 1970 World’s Fair, the first one held in Japan, and it’s just kind of stuck around since then. Standing at seventy meters (230ft) tall and twenty meters (66ft) wide, it’s quite the intimidating figure, especially with its outstretched wings and three displeased-looking faces.
Perhaps because of its unusual appearance, the Tower of the Sun has popped up in Japanese pop culture before. We’ve seen it before transforming into a giant Gundam, and now – probably as a merchandizing opportunity from it recently opening back up to the public – you can get your own Tower of the Sun in gachapon form.
400 yen (US$3.39) and a turn of the crank will get you one of these seven possible toys:
▼ There’s adorable bowl-caddy Tower.
▼ Seductive bowl-caddy Tower.
▼ Bathing bowl-caddy Tower.
▼ Tower showing off his rarely-seen backside.
▼ Tower sniffing out trouble.
▼ Uh, apparently you can also get a shirtless figure of the artist who designed the Tower, Tarō Okamoto.
▼ And the last one is a surprise. You’ll just have to keep putting in yen and turning the crank until you have ten copies of all the others before you find out what it is.
If having a Tower of the Sun (or its artist) hang out with you on your cereal bowl or wine glass sounds like an awesome idea, then check out your local gachapon store after February 25, which is when they will be on sale. If you simply cannot wait that long, then head over to the Taro Okamoto Memorial Museum in Tokyo where they’ll be available starting February 11.
Just look for the things that look like this:
▼ No, they’re not screaming one-eyed robots, they’re gachapon machines.
Taro Okamoto was known for saying, “Art belongs to the public. Art that cannot be touched by the public is meaningless.” Well, it doesn’t get any easier to touch than a capsule toy, so we have a feeling he would probably approve of his art being used in this collaboration.
▼ Well, either that or he’d rip off his shirt and start beating us with a spoon.
Source: Kitan Club, Wikipedia
Featured/insert images: Kitan Club
[ Read in Japanese ]









New gachapon vending machine capsule toy range features miniature sweaters for water bottles
New Japanese gacha capsule vending machine toys bring you sheep’s clothing to dress your cats in
Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa
New 7-Eleven sandwich goes viral in Japan, but is it everything it’s cracked up to be?
Foreign man arrested for walking on Shinkansen tracks, claims he was on the run from yakuza
How to take your home ramen to the next level by making your own chashu pork in a frying pan
Peanuts and Coke becomes a viral hit in Japan, but is it a trend worth joining?
Japanese manhole lid raises eyebrows with fertility god symbol that looks like… well, you know
Man bites woman at cherry blossom park in Japan, dies shortly after
Studio Ghibli unveils My Neighbour Totoro miniature house model
Five amazing snow-view open-air Japanese hot springs in Hokkaido [Photos]
Oh Boy, That’s Pretty Racist (Part Two): Japanese woman explains why Taiwanese girls suck
Pokémon and Ikea Japan cross over into each other’s worlds with collaboration events
Starbucks Japan closing only Shinkansen platform branch for popularity-triggered renovations
Two food hacks take Japan’s convenience store fried chicken to amazing new sandwich heights
You can assemble a well-balanced team of Pokémon, them eat them, thanks to Japanese cake chain
Fading Tokyo – Searching for signs of the Showa era as local neighborhoods evolve[Photos]
Pokémon lacquerware series expands for Year of the Horse with new handcrafted design[Video]
Tokyo turns its phone booths into free Wi-Fi hotspots, and here’s how to use them
Tokyo teahouse serves up a sakura matcha dessert you won’t find anywhere else
Totoro Fund line of beautiful artwork and apparel lets you help the real-world Totoro Forest
Japan now has a special desk for people who work at home with a pet cat[Photos]
Famous Tokyo cherry blossom spot installs view-blocking screens to fight overcrowding[Video]
Uniqlo announces new T-shirts for One Piece, Naruto and more for manga publisher’s 100th birthday
Train station platform ramen store closes its doors on half a century of history in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new My Fruit³ Frappuccino at only 34 stores around the country
Studio Ghibli releases Catbus pullback keychain that runs like the anime character
Krispy Kreme releases Super Mario doughnuts in Japan for a limited time
Japanese onsen egg maker from 100-yen store Daiso needs to be on your shopping list
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your home
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says