SORA NEWS



 

Sunshine City set to shine even brighter with opening of Bandai Namco’s Gashapon Department Store.

A big part of the fun of Japan’s capsule toys is the sheer variety on offer. Each individual machine contains multiple variations on a single theme, and there’s an incredibly wide range of toys across the industry as a whole.

And soon fans will have a place to revel in that bounteous diversity like never before, with the opening of the world’s largest capsule toy specialty store in Tokyo.

Bandai Namco Amusement is getting ready to open the newest branch of its Gashapon Department Store chain in the downtown Ikebukuro neighborhood. While this isn’t the first Gashapon Department Store branch, it’s by far the biggest, with a whopping 1,256 square meters (13,519 square feet) of floor space.

The more important number, though, is the number of Gashapon capsule toys that will be ready and waiting: 3,000!

▼ The Ikebukuro Gashapon Department Store will be even bigger than the smaller branch  shown in these two photos.

 

There’ll even be a bit of capsule toy history, as the venue will also have a display of nostalgic Gashapon machines from yesteryear.

Because of the huge number of machines, Bandai Namco boasts that the new Gashapon Department Store will be able to cater to a variety of tastes, from hardcore anime fans (Ikebukuro is one of Tokyo’s major otaku meccas) craving the latest character merch to casual capsule toy fans and international travelers looking for a quirky souvenir.

 

For example, among the items that will be available on opening day are Dragon Ball and Gundam figures, but also tea carton replica keychains.

Bandai Namco says that 3,000 capsule machines in the same venue is a world record, and Guinness will be stopping by to confirm the claim on March 18. You don’t need to wait that long to get your hands on some of Gashapon Department Store Ikebukuro’s toys, though, since the shop opens on February 26 inside the Sunshine City entertainment complex, meaning you can easily combine your visit with a cupcake run at the Pikachu Sweets cafe.

 

Shop information
Gashapon Department Store (Ikebukuro branch) / ガシャポンのデパート（池袋店）
Address: Tokyo-to, Toshima-ku, Higashi Ikebukuro 3-1-3, Sunshine City World Import Mart Building 3rd floor
東京都豊島区東池袋3-1-3サンシャインシティ ワールドインポートマートビル3F
Open 10 a.m.-8 p.m.