Second, I remembered 30 mins prior to landing that I had a #gatchapon from #KuraSushi in my bag I've been meaning to build. This turned out to be not so bright of an idea, with a few close calls losing some pieces, but I managed to finish the piece right after we landed and before we reached the gate.  And apparently it came with plenty of extra pieces left over.

What’s the main takeaway from Japan #gatchapon quest nov 2022 edition? Sure, the popular anime stuff is fun, but the best finds are the weird, quirky ones that you’ll only find in Japan, like the propane gas tanks, the badly folded origami birds, social media amulets & meat tape

And the #gatchapon hack I’ve used on past trips: if there’s a toy you’ve badly wanted to get, but couldn’t get out of the machine, you might find it for sale in Nakano Broadway! (Tho if it’s rare, the markup might be a bit steep)

#gatchapon quest lesson 4: dont snooze on the unique gatcha finds in some specialty boutiques and museums. I got two hand-painted, hand-crafted mini daruma at the Beams store in Kyoto for 500 yen ($3.60) each

#gatchapon quest lesson 3 - sometimes (like at this big batch of machines at Yodobashi Umeda in Osaka), machines are grouped into themes! Kid-friendly toys, weird stuff only eccentric adults would like is its own group, cute animals, k-pop/j-pop idols, latest anime tie-ins etc

Lesson 2 from #gatchapon quest: if you or anyone you know loves BTS, you will go broke on gatchapon toys. Those guys are (almost) everywhere.

So what did i learn during this trip’s #gatchapon quest? 1) the weirder it is, the greater the chance that you’ll only see it once, so buy it then. I regret not cleaning out the “social media omamori” machine because an amulet for “likes” and “shares” is pretty genius

And finally, the cats in weird poses #gatchapon toy. Also seen near Kokusai-Tenjijio station. Maybe someone csn explain the concept behind this one for me?

More weird #gatchapon finds: the sitting, chill-out vegetables. Wanted turnip/daikon, got it on 3rd try after the pumpkin and cabbage. I’ll call that a win. 😅 Found near Kokusai-Tenjijo station near Tokyo Big Sight