Anime characters and cute models are some of the surprise finds in this fukubukuro. 

As we head towards the end of January, the signs of New Year are beginning to fade, with only a few fukubukuro lucky bags remaining in stores.

One of the places where you can still purchase a bag is at Akihabara Radio Kaikan, one of the most famous landmarks in Tokyo’s famous otaku Mecca for electronics and anime goods.

▼ Fukubukuro (“福袋”)

Being gacha capsule toy lovers, we couldn’t resist the opportunity to pick up one of Radio Kaikan’s Gacha Fukubukuro for 3,000 yen (US$20.25). Gacha capsules are usually dispensed from machines at random, but you can at least know the range you’re choosing from, so a lucky bag of gacha adds another level of mystery to the purchase.

What would this mystery bag of mystery gacha contain? Well, when we opened the lucky bag, we discovered a total of 42 capsules inside, which turned out to be an absolute bargain, as that meant each one cost around 72 yen, when prices usually range from 200-500 yen.

After sorting through them all, we were able to classify them into three genres, “Models“, “Miscellaneous” and “Anime“, which is pretty representative of the top-selling products at Akihabara.

Delving into the model category, the item that caught our eye was the “Solar Squid Dryer“, created under the supervision of Nagasaki-based Kagimoto Iron Works, the company that makes the full-scale dryers in the real world.

Being able to see the structure of the dryer up close in miniature form was fascinating, but we could’ve done with just one of them, because we ended up receiving three.

In the “Miscellaneous” category, we found another impressive item — the “Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Creatures: Tokkuri Bachi“.

What’s known in Japan as “Tokkuri Bachi” is otherwise known as the Potter Wasp (Eumenes mikado), a solitary wasp whose nest resembles a tokkuri, the bottle used for pouring sake.

▼ Commonly found in the Yaeyama Islands south of Miyakojima, the wasp looks frightening but it’s said to have a relatively calm personality.

As for the gacha in the anime category, unfortunately there weren’t many familiar titles represented, but there were a few surprises like Buzz Lightyear and…

▼…Yuji Itadori from Jujutsu Kaisen.

The full list of all the gacha we received for 3,000 yen were as follows:

  • 1/25 scale utility pole
  • Door of a housing complex
  • Solar squid dryer x 3
  • Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Creatures: Tokkuri Bachi × 2
  • Rolling dung beetle × 2
  • Wooden kokeshi × 3
  • Dead by Daylight Charm Collection Figure x 2
  • BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! Capsule Collection Figure x 2
  • Chainsaw Man Sleeping
  • Buzz Lightyear × 2
  • Re.ZERO — Starting Life in Another World — Mugyutto Collection Figure x 2
  • Promise of Wizard Clip x 3
  • Fate Grand Order capsule can badge x 2
  • Cute Lie Otter Magnet × 2
  • Disney Twisted-Wonderland Capsule Can Badge Collection x 4
  • Jujutsu Kaisen swing mascot x 3

As this is a lucky bag, the contents may differ from bag to bag, but we were happy with everything we received, despite some of them being double-ups or triple-ups.

▼ We learnt a few things about the natural world too.

▼ One of our favourite finds was the kokeshi, which were even cuter in miniature form.

While Radio Kaikan’s gacha lucky bag was filled with fun items that both charmed us and taught us a few things we may not have known otherwise, the main thing it made us realise was how much time you can kill opening capsule toys.

It took us a good few hours to go through everything, which made us feel like we were opening presents on Christmas Day. So next time you’re looking for a fukubukuro that’ll keep you occupied at New Year’s, we highly recommend buying a bag from Radio Kaikan. And if you’ve got even more time on your hands and want to really stretch out the enjoyment, you can always buy this even bigger bag of gacha toys that’ll keep you busy for an entire day!

Photos ©SoraNews24
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