Search

Shopping · Anime

Gashapon in Tokyo: the biggest capsule toy stores ranked by machine count, with prices per turn, opening hours, stations and stock checks

Capsule toys are the cheapest anime souvenir in Tokyo, and the stores that sell nothing else range from a corner with 144 machines to a floor with more than 4,000. Two chains run most of the big ones. The GASHAPON Department Store stocks toys from many makers, while the GASHAPON BANDAI OFFICIAL SHOP sells only Bandai's own Gashapon brand. In several places the two share one floor. Below, the big sites are ranked by machine count, with a note on which to choose for the kind of day you have, then a section on each with its address, hours and station. After that come prices, paying and checking stock. Every fact is from an official source: the two chains' store pages and FAQ, Bandai's Gashapon site, and the websites of the buildings that house the stores. We read them all on Monday 19 October 2026, and the links are collected in the Sources list that closes the page.

Last checked · Sources

A wide station entrance under a white canopy, with steel columns, glass doors, a brick-paved forecourt and a sign reading Yaesu Central Entrance
Yaesu Central Entrance of Tokyo Station · Photo: MaedaAkihiko, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

In short

The biggest capsule toy store in Tokyo is the GASHAPON Department Store Ikebukuro Main Store, on the third floor of Sunshine City's World Import Mart Building, which its own page calls the world's largest, with over 4,000 machines. It shares the floor with a GASHAPON BANDAI OFFICIAL SHOP and trades from 10:00 until 21:00 all year round. Near Tokyo Station, the official shop in Tokyo Character Street, on First Avenue Tokyo Station's B1 floor, has 144 machines and closes at 20:30. Other big sites are on 4F of Tokyo Solamachi below the Skytree, beside Asakusa Hanayashiki, on 4F at 1-15-9 Sotokanda one minute from Akihabara Station, at BIGFUN Heiwajima and at Takashimaya in Tachikawa. Most turns cost 300 to 500 yen, and the Department Store chain's FAQ gives a range of 100 to 2,500 yen. Neither chain lists a store in Shibuya or Ginza.

Tokyo's gashapon stores at a glance

The two kinds of capsule toy store

"Gashapon" is a registered trademark of Bandai, the toy maker, and you will also see the spelling "gachapon", which the Ikebukuro store's own English page uses. How a machine works, coin by coin, is in our Akihabara buying guide, along with Akihabara Gachapon Hall. This page is about the stores.

Two chains run most of the big stores in Tokyo, and the names are close enough to confuse. Their pages sit on the same website and offer the same points app.

Department Store or Official Shop?

  • GASHAPON Department Store (ガシャポンのデパート): toys from Bandai and other makers. Its FAQ says it stocks "a wide range of genres from Bandai and other makers". Its page describes a Bandai Gashapon corner, where Bandai's latest popular toys arrive early.
  • GASHAPON BANDAI OFFICIAL SHOP (ガシャポンバンダイオフィシャルショップ): Bandai's Gashapon brand only. The Ikebukuro page calls it "a store specializing in Bandai's original capsule toy brand", with "all new products".

The Department Store chain describes itself as "a gashapon shop with a range as wide as a department store's" (デパートみたいな幅広いラインナップが揃うガシャポンのお店). On 19 October 2026 its store list had 168 stores across Japan, 13 of them in Tokyo. The official shop's list had 302 stores, 16 of them in Tokyo, and five of those 16 are in cinemas or bookshops.

The two often share a building. In Ikebukuro, Akihabara, Asakusa Hanayashiki, Heiwajima and both Tachikawa sites, the same address has one of each. When the official shop sits inside the Department Store, as it has in Ikebukuro since opening day, you can walk between them without noticing the border.

The biggest gashapon stores in Tokyo compared

Each store page gives a number for its machines, counted in faces (面): one face is one slot you can turn. Where both chains have a store at the same address, we added the two numbers together. Those totals are our sums, not figures the stores publish. Akihabara is the exception. Its official shop's page says the 800 there already covers both stores, so we did not add the Department Store's 500 to it.

Site Department Store Official Shop Total Nearest station Hours
Ikebukuro, Sunshine City 3F 3,220 880 4,100 Higashi-Ikebukuro, about 3 minutes 10:00–21:00
BIGFUN Heiwajima 1F 1,700 320 2,020 Heiwajima, 15 minutes, or a 100-yen bus 10:00–22:00
Tachikawa Takashimaya S.C. 3F 1,610 300 1,910 Tachikawa (JR), 3 minutes 10:00–21:00
LaLaport Tachikawa Tachihi 3F 800 240 1,040 Tachihi (monorail), direct link 10:00–20:00 (21:00 Sat, Sun, holidays)
Akihabara, 1-15-9 Sotokanda 4F 500 800 for both 800 Akihabara, 1 minute 10:00–23:00
Asakusa Hanayashiki 420 300 720 Asakusa (Tsukuba Express), 5 minutes 10:00–18:00, varies
Tokyo Solamachi 4F none 250 250 Tokyo Skytree, right by the main exit 10:00–21:00
Tokyo Station B1 none 144 144 Tokyo Station 10:00–20:30

Machine counts and hours are from each chain's store list on 19 October 2026. None of the eight sites lists a closing day, though the stores inside other buildings follow those buildings' closing days, and the Asakusa Hanayashiki stores vary their hours by season and weather.

  • 4,100machines on one floor in Ikebukuro, adding both chains
  • 13Department Stores in Tokyo, of 168 across Japan
  • 16official shops in Tokyo, of 302 across Japan

The Tokyo lists also include Department Stores at Oji (480 machines), Kiba (600), Oimachi (750), Ario Kitasuna (640), Machida (550) and two bookshops in Minami-Osawa and Nerima-Takanodai, and official shops in cinemas and bookshops further out. The table keeps to the sites with the most machines and those beside the main sights.

Which gashapon store to pick

Pick by your day

  • You want the biggest choice: Ikebukuro. One floor, both chains, more than 4,000 machines, and a photo spot for your toys.
  • You have an hour at Tokyo Station: the official shop in Tokyo Character Street, B1 of First Avenue, 144 machines.
  • You are going up the Skytree: the official shop on 4F of Solamachi, by the Tokyo Skytree station exit.
  • You are in Asakusa: the stores beside Hanayashiki, in the area you can enter without a ticket. They close earliest, at 18:00.
  • You are in Akihabara late: the stores at 1-15-9 Sotokanda stay open until 23:00.
  • You want a big store away from the centre: BIGFUN Heiwajima or Tachikawa Takashimaya, both with more than 1,900 machines.

Ikebukuro: the GASHAPON Department Store Ikebukuro Main Store

Exit 2 of Higashi-Ikebukuro Station, a covered stairway down to the Yurakucho Line beside a street map board
Exit 2 of Higashi-Ikebukuro, a station on the Yurakucho Line. From here the Ikebukuro Main Store is about a three-minute walk · Photo: Tokyo-Good This photo was taken with iPhone 7, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The store's English page introduces it as "the flagship store of GASHAPON Department Store, which has branches all over Japan" and promises "over 4,000 machines", calling the floor the world's largest. Its own count, further down the same page, is 3,220. The official shop's page adds 880, and the two together come to 4,100, which matches the "over 4,000".

It opened on Friday 26 February 2021 as the chain's 17th store. The opening notice gave it 3,000 machines and a 20:00 closing time, and said Bandai's official shop "will appear as a shop-in-shop". Both have grown since. Closing time is now 21:00.

What the Ikebukuro page stresses is speed and range. "Bandai's latest popular products arrive quickly and we have a wide selection!" it says, and every toy in the Bandai Gashapon section can be searched for stock on the website. The page also describes a "gasha shooting spot", a corner set up for photographing the toys you have just won.

One thing the store will not do is talk stock on the phone. The page says it cannot answer calls about incoming toys, what it carries or how many are left, and adds that some toys are announced on the item page. How that page works is set out below, under checking stock.

A second official shop on Sunshine 60 Street

Ikebukuro has a third store, smaller and open later. The official shop inside namco Ikebukuro is on 1F of the Humax Pavilion building on Sunshine 60 Street (サンシャイン60通り), 1-22-10 Higashi-Ikebukuro, with 250 machines. It opens at 10:00 and closes at 23:00, two hours after the Main Store, with last entry at 22:45. Its page gives a five-minute walk both from JR Ikebukuro Station's east exit and from Exit 2 of Higashi-Ikebukuro Station.

Ikebukuro's other anime shops, and whether it or Akihabara suits you better, are in our comparison of the two districts.

GASHAPON Department Store Ikebukuro Main Store, World Import Mart Building 3F, Sunshine City, 3-1-3 Higashi-Ikebukuro · Open in Google Maps

Tokyo Station: the official shop in Tokyo Character Street

First Avenue Tokyo Station's page dates this shop's opening to Wednesday 19 March 2025, and describes a shop that sells new toys across a wide range, from original characters to popular series, and doubles as a base for news about the Gashapon brand (ブランド情報発信基地).

With 144 machines it is the smallest store in this guide. What it offers instead is the location. If you arrive or leave by Shinkansen, it is the one gashapon store you can fit around the train without crossing the city. The way from the ticket gates to Tokyo Character Street is described in our guide to JUMP SHOP's Tokyo stores, which also covers the other character shops along the same street.

Gashapon Bandai Official Shop @TOKYO STATION, Tokyo Character Street, First Avenue Tokyo Station B1, 1-9-1 Marunouchi · Open in Google Maps

Tokyo Solamachi: the official shop below the Skytree

Solamachi has no Department Store, so every machine here holds a Bandai toy. The building's own website lists 10:00 to 21:00 for Solamachi, with a warning that some shops keep different hours. The store list gives this shop the same 10:00 to 21:00.

If your day at the Skytree is for anime goods, JUMP SHOP is on the same 4F, and that store is covered in our JUMP SHOP article.

Gashapon Bandai Official Shop Tokyo Solamachi, East Yard 4F, 1-1-2 Oshiage · Open in Google Maps

Asakusa: two stores beside Hanayashiki

Hanayashiki is an amusement park, but both stores sit outside its gates, where both chains mark the area as free to enter. No park ticket is needed to reach the machines.

They also close earliest, at 18:00, against 20:30 at the Tokyo Station shop and 21:00 at Ikebukuro, so fit them into the daytime part of an Asakusa visit rather than the evening.

The two stores outside the gates of Asakusa Hanayashiki, 2-28-1 Asakusa · Open in Google Maps

Akihabara: 1-15-9 Sotokanda

Akihabara is the only site where the two pages count the floor together. Read the official shop's figure as the size of the whole floor, 800 machines, not as 800 on top of the Department Store's 500. That puts it fifth in our table, after Ikebukuro, Heiwajima and both Tachikawa sites.

It is a different shop from Akihabara Gachapon Hall at 3-15-5 Sotokanda, near Suehirocho Station. The rest of the district's anime shops are covered in the Akihabara half of that comparison.

With both stores open until 23:00 and the station a minute away, this is the big site to leave for the end of a day.

The Akihabara stores, 4F, 1-15-9 Sotokanda, a minute from Akihabara Station · Open in Google Maps

Heiwajima and Tachikawa: the big stores further out

A tall red arch standing over a raised pedestrian deck in front of a white station building, with the station name in Japanese on the wall
The north exit of JR Tachikawa Station, a three-minute walk from the Tachikawa Takashimaya S.C. stores · Photo: DiKnK8713, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The second- and third-biggest sites in our table are outside the usual visitor areas. Both are worth the trip only if you want a big store more than you want to see the sights near it.

BIGFUN Heiwajima

The 100-yen bus saves most of the walk. Heiwajima's Department Store is also one of the four item lists we counted for prices, in the next section.

BIGFUN Heiwajima, 1-1-1 Heiwajima, Ota-ku. The stores are on 1F. · Open in Google Maps

Tachikawa

Tachikawa, a city in western Tokyo, has two sites. Added together they come to 2,950 machines, more than any district on the two chains' lists except Ikebukuro.

Tachikawa Takashimaya S.C., 2-39-3 Akebonocho, Tachikawa. The stores are on 3F. · Open in Google Maps

Shibuya and Ginza: none on either list

On 19 October 2026, neither chain's Tokyo list had a store in Shibuya or Ginza. That does not mean there are no capsule toys there. Bandai's own search, Gashapon Doko (ガシャポンどこ？), finds shops that sell a given toy, and it says it does not list every shop that sells them. It does mean neither chain has a store of its own there.

From Shibuya, the big sites on this page are a train ride away. Travel times from the main stations to Ikebukuro and Akihabara are listed in the same district comparison.

What a turn costs in Tokyo

The Department Store's FAQ puts its prices at 100 to 2,500 yen a turn, and warns that the toys on sale change over time. That is the full span. To see where most toys actually sit, we counted the prices on four of the item lists the stores post on their pages, each showing the Bandai toys in that store's machines, as last updated at 17:03 on 19 October 2026.

Item list Toys 200 yen 300 yen 400 yen 500 yen 600 yen and up
Ikebukuro, Department Store 208 1 75 73 59 0
Ikebukuro, official shop 302 4 80 111 99 8
Tokyo Station, official shop 88 1 25 25 36 1
BIGFUN Heiwajima, Department Store 102 4 33 40 20 5

Many toys appear on more than one list. The Gundam bust at 800 yen, for one, is on three of them. Counting each toy once, the four lists hold 441 different toys.

Four item lists, 19 October 2026

  • 441different toys, each counted once
  • 424of them at 300 to 500 yen, or 96%
  • 200 yenthe lowest price, for 7 toys
  • 1,500 yenthe highest, for 1 toy

None of the four lists had a toy at 100 yen or at 2,500 yen that day. The lists cover Bandai's toys only, so the other makers' machines in the two Department Stores are not in these numbers.

Five of the seven 200-yen toys were flat Gashapon: clear posters and small clear files, among them a Hatsune Miku poster from Magical Mirai 2026. The other two were Kinnikuman's Kinkeshi 27 and an Anpanman mascot.

At the top end were these:

  • 1,500 yen: a pair of beetles from the Ikimono Daizukan Advance series, at the Ikebukuro official shop and Heiwajima.
  • 1,000 yen: ONE PIECE CARD GAME Figure Collection 2, at the Ikebukuro official shop and Heiwajima, and a Gasha Portraits PREMIUM figure of Sakura Suzuhara from Evangelion, at Heiwajima.
  • 800 yen: the MS Mechanical Bust DX of the Unicorn Gundam 02 Banshee, at the Ikebukuro official shop, Tokyo Station and Heiwajima, and three CAPSULEVERSE and CAPSULE APARTMENT sets (Godzilla, Mobile Suit Gundam and the Powerpuff Girls), at the Ikebukuro official shop.
  • 600 yen: an Ojamajo Doremi collection, at Heiwajima.

For a budget, ten turns at the usual prices come to 3,000 to 5,000 yen.

Paying for a turn

The Department Store's FAQ says that some of its stores have cashless machines that take transport e-money such as Suica (一部店舗でSuicaなど交通系電子マネーが使えるキャッシュレス対応機も設置しています). It does not say which stores, or how many of the machines. First Avenue Tokyo Station's page for the official shop there gives cash as its one payment method.

So bring cash, and tap your IC card wherever a machine has a reader. What a Suica or PASMO covers for small purchases is in our guide to cash and cards, and how a visitor gets one is explained on our Suica page.

Checking stock before you go

Every Department Store and official shop in this guide has an item list on the chain's website. It names each Bandai toy in the machines, with the price and a stock mark, and shows when it was last updated.

Check a toy before you go

  • Find the store's item liston the chain's website, under that store.
  • Read the mark.○ means 11 or more left. △ means few left, 1 to 10.
  • Search by toy insteadwith Gashapon Doko (ガシャポンどこ？) on Bandai's Gashapon site, which finds shops that sell a given toy and shows their stock.
  • Do not ask by phone.The item lists say the stores cannot answer questions about when toys will arrive, and the Ikebukuro page says it does not take calls about incoming toys, what it carries or how many are left.

On 19 October, 120 of the 700 entries on the four lists we counted carried △. At Heiwajima it was 35 of 102, about a third of the list. Each list shows when it was last updated, so check it on the day you go rather than the week before.

Points, empty capsules and the photo spot

Both chains use the same points app, the namco app (ナムコアプリ). Their pages describe three steps. You check in at the store to earn points. You drop your empty capsules into the empty capsule collection machine to earn stamps. Then the points and stamps turn into coupons you can use in the stores.

The Department Store chain calls all this gasha-katsu (ガシャ活, short for "gashapon activity"). Its page also says the gasha shooting spot (ガシャ撮りスポット), a corner for photographing your toys, is free to use, and the Ikebukuro page describes the one there.

If you are not staying long enough to collect coupons, the collection machine is still worth knowing about. It takes the empty plastic capsules, which saves carrying them back to your hotel.

Frequently asked questions

What is the biggest gashapon store in Tokyo?

The GASHAPON Department Store Ikebukuro Main Store, in Sunshine City, on 3F of its World Import Mart Building. Its English page calls it the world's largest and promises over 4,000 machines. Its own count is 3,220, and the official shop inside it adds 880, for 4,100 on the floor. You can visit on any day of the year between 10:00 and 21:00.

How much does a gashapon turn cost in Tokyo?

Mostly 300 to 500 yen. On the four item lists we counted on 19 October 2026, 424 of 441 different toys were in that band, the cheapest was 200 yen and the dearest 1,500 yen. The Department Store's FAQ gives 100 to 2,500 yen as its full range.

Is there a gashapon store in Tokyo Station?

Yes. The Gashapon Bandai Official Shop @TOKYO STATION is in Tokyo Character Street, in the basement of First Avenue Tokyo Station. It has 144 machines, sells Bandai's own toys only, and closes at 20:30 after a 10:00 start. First Avenue's page lists cash as the way to pay.

Is there a gashapon store at Tokyo Skytree?

Yes, in Tokyo Solamachi, the mall below the tower. The official shop is in East Yard, block 10, on 4F, with 250 machines, and trades from 10:00 until 21:00. Get off at Tokyo Skytree Station, where it is just past the main exit, or at Oshiage.

Where can I find gashapon in Shibuya?

Neither chain listed a store in Shibuya on 19 October 2026. To find a shop near you that sells a particular toy, search Gashapon Doko (ガシャポンどこ？) on Bandai's Gashapon site, keeping in mind that it does not list every shop. For a big store, go to Ikebukuro or Akihabara.

Can I pay for gashapon with Suica?

At some stores. The Department Store's FAQ says some of its stores have cashless machines that take transport e-money such as Suica, but it does not name them. Carry cash as well. First Avenue's page lists cash for the Tokyo Station shop.

How can I check whether a store has the toy I want?

Look at the store's item list on the chain's website. ○ means 11 or more are left, △ means 1 to 10. You can also search by toy on Gashapon Doko. Both can differ from the machines on the day. The stores say they cannot answer questions about when toys will arrive, and the Ikebukuro page asks you not to call about stock.

How is a GASHAPON Department Store different from a GASHAPON BANDAI OFFICIAL SHOP?

The Department Store stocks toys from Bandai and other makers, with a Bandai Gashapon corner where new Bandai toys arrive early. The official shop sells Bandai's Gashapon brand only. At several sites, Ikebukuro and Akihabara among them, the two share one address.

Which gashapon stores in Tokyo stay open late?

The Akihabara stores at 1-15-9 Sotokanda, the official shop in namco Ikebukuro on Sunshine 60 Street and the Department Store at Oji all stay open until 23:00. In namco Ikebukuro, last entry is 22:45. BIGFUN Heiwajima closes at 22:00. The Ikebukuro Main Store closes at 21:00.

Do I need a Hanayashiki ticket to use the Asakusa stores?

No. Both stores are outside the gates of Asakusa Hanayashiki, in an area the two chains mark as free to enter. They keep the shortest hours of the big sites, closing at 18:00 after a 10:00 start, and their pages say the hours shift with season and weather.

Sources

Official and primary sources used for this page. Checked October 19, 2026.

Show all 37 sources

Related guides

A wide grey curved building with the name Yodobashi-Akiba near the roof and rows of tall advertising banners along its lower floors, under a blue sky
Anime
What to Buy in Akihabara: A Shopping Guide
What to buy in Akihabara in 2026: electronics, PC parts, retro games, capsule toys and trading cards, with each shop's hours, tax-free rules and Sunday tips.
A white department store with a large blue SEIBU sign and a white PARCO building beside it, behind a roundabout with a hedge and a bronze sculpture, under a deep blue sky
Anime
Akihabara vs Ikebukuro for Anime Fans (2026)
Akihabara or Ikebukuro for anime? What each Tokyo district has, shop by shop: animate, second-hand goods, figures, cards, Otome Road, hours and transport.
The low white roof of Tokyo Dome behind a tall A-frame swing ride and other fairground rides under a grey sky
Anime
JUMP SHOP Tokyo: Every Store, Hours & Tax-Free
Tokyo's five JUMP SHOP stores and THE JUMP SHOP Jimbocho compared: Tokyo Dome City, Tokyo Station, Solamachi, Shibuya, Ikebukuro, hours, tax-free and stations.
A street junction in Akihabara with electronics and game-arcade signs and a railway bridge
Anime
Japan for Anime Fans: Where to Go and What to Do
Japan for anime fans in 2026: the best districts in Tokyo and Osaka, museums and parks that need booking, event dates, arcade rules and a 10-day itinerary.
A long yellow sign with red Japanese lettering above the entrance of Akihabara Radio Kaikan, with pedestrians on the pavement below
Anime
Where to Buy Anime Figures in Japan
Where to buy anime figures in Japan in 2026: Akihabara's Radio Kaikan floor by floor, Nakano Broadway, Osaka, real prices, tax-free rules and spotting fakes.
Brick steps leading up to a low building with a Sunshine City sign, with a tall white tower behind it
Anime
Pokémon Center Tokyo: Which One to Visit & Prices
Which Pokémon Center to visit in Tokyo in 2026: DX vs Mega Tokyo, Shibuya and Skytree, hours, busy-day tickets, new goods prices, tax-free and Osaka.

To cite or link to this page: Gashapon in Tokyo: the biggest capsule toy stores ranked by machine count, with prices per turn, opening hours, stations and stock checks — Japan Pocket Guide, https://japanpocketguide.com/shopping/gachapon-tokyo/