Being exasperated when playing a game or doing something that needs luck is a usual thing. But when buying something from a vending machine, we know what’s coming and that we’re getting it for sure. Unless the machine gets stuck at which point there’s the fight or flight reaction – some people kick the machine, while some give up. Gacha machines in Japan are a mix of all of that, in a good way.

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Gacha is a shortened version of the word gachapon referring to a type of vending machine that will give you capsules with toys when you insert a coin. Usually the machine has pictures of the 4-5 toys it has, but there’s no way of knowing which one you’ll get. Gachapon itself comes from onomatopoeic words – “Gacha” is the Japanese word for that cranking sound inside the vending machine when you turn the handle, and “pon” refers to the sound when the capsule pops out. You are hearing it, right?

There are various systems of gacha, with different prices, but usually between a 100 and 500 yen. Most often gacha machines cost 200 yen per toy. To use this vending machine is easy, you just insert the coin or coins, then press the button located under the coin slot and spin. You need to have the exact change, but don’t worry if you don’t. Most gacha places have automated machines that change bills into coins. And in the rare case that the capsule gets stuck, there’s always someone on the premises who can open up the whole gachapon and sort it out.

Gacha capsules have different colors depend on how rare they are, but some gachas have random colours, so the player doesn’t know how rare they actually are. The ratio also depends on each machine, for example a certain gacha vending machine has 19 (normal) : 1 (rare) item in it. More often than not these are exclusive gacha toys, so you cannot buy them elsewhere, ensuring that you have to try out your luck. Eventually, some toys will start being offered for sale online by people who got the toy and are reselling it.

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Gacha machines are mostly known for having anime figurines, and to make things more exciting there are always new collections of exclusive gacha anime toys from popular ongoing anime like One Piece, Gundam, Pokemon, Dragon Ball and so on. A sure way to find the most and the coolest anime gacha is by going to Akihabara. There are gachapon machines almost on every corner in Akihabara, and there’s also whole establishments dedicated to gacha only like the legendary Akihabara Gachapon Hall. There are more than 430 Gachapon units with various rewards inside.

Another set of gacha machines are dedicated to all things cute – plushy animals, mini versions of daily objects or buildings, mini sweets and foods and so on. Very often these are made to be practical, so they are key chains, phone charms, pins and badges, and so on.

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A rare and interesting gacha type is the sexy 18+ type that can sometimes be noticed in nightlife districts like Kabukicho. They are usually in black capsules, cost a bit more and contain things like lingerie. Gacha’s possibilities are endless!

Gachapon has been inspiring people to adapt it into video games. One of the games that use this concept is Valkyrie Crusade. Players use a ticket that can be purchased with real money or get it in a game event while playing gachapon.

Also, some restaurants like conveyor belt sushi places have a real or virtual gacha game that customers can play to get small prizes while dining in or while paying the bill.

You can even buy your own gacha machine and capsules and get creative with it! You can make game for your friends, distribute small presents like that, or messages. Again, with gacha, there are so many possibilities.

Out of Akihabara you can also find a lot of gacha machines in Shinjuku, here is a detailed guide.
But you can find these toy machines everywhere, especially train stations, game centers, big shopping malls etc.

And there is no limit to how many you can buy and collect, even a 100 in a day has been a tried and tested experiment!

The most important thing is to try your luck and enjoy the surprise!

More gacha articles on Japan Info:

The Great Tokyo “Gacha-Gacha”
The Seven Most Exciting “Gacha-gacha” Types

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Creative DIY STEM projects like making a sorting machine help students understand steps of the engineering design process. Plus, hands-on science activities like this are lots of fun in the classroom and give kids a practical challenge to solve.

Have you ever used a machine that you put a handful of coins into, and the coins fall into collectors based on the type of coin? This kind of machine is fun to use and makes it easy to sort your money. The machine doesn't really know the difference in types of money. What the machine is designed to do is sort objects based on size.

Sorting machines are used to automate tasks that are time-consuming to do by hand (or might even be impossible). Examples of sorting machines can be found in a wide range of jobs and real-world processes. Different sorting machines tackle different kinds of sorting tasks, but what they share is a focus on sorting based on a 'property' of the materials they sort. In the case of a coin sorting machine, the machine sorts based on size. If the machine is well-designed, a quarter can't fall into the slot for dimes; similarly, if the machine is designed properly, a dime won't end up in the quarters area. (What might be wrong with the design if this happened?)

Building a simple sorting machine from ordinary craft materials is a great way for kids to explore engineering principles and to experiment with iterative design. Engineers often prototype a solution and find, once they test it, that they need to go back and make changes and then test again. Sometimes these steps are repeated multiple times in the process of creating something that works the way the engineer wants it to work and solves the specific challenge or need. Students can explore these steps of the engineering design process by making their own marble sorting machines out of plastic cups and wooden sticks.

A Fun Engineering Challenge

In the Gravity-Powered Sorting Machine family- and classroom-friendly engineering activity, students are guided in designing their own gravity-powered sorting machine to sort plastic beads (or marbles) of different sizes into separate cups. The machine will use size as the limiting property, but what other variables will be important?

If you go back to the coin sorter example, there is a risk that smaller coins will slide right on past their collection points. With the marble sorting machine, the same problem may arise. You don't want small marbles to end up in the cup for big marbles. What factors (or variables) might cause the beads to slide past their drop spot and into the wrong cup? How can you alter the design of the machine to help prevent this problem? What does gravity have to do with the design of the machine in this activity?

Can you design a working marble sorting machine? How many different sizes can your machine handle?

Put it to the test and build your own sorting machine!

Making Connections

Students interested in this STEM activity may also enjoy these engineering projects and activities at Science Buddies:

Engineers Week and the 2017 Fluor Challenge

Engineers Week (E-Week) is February 19-25, 2017. Perfect for E-Week classroom science, the 2017 Fluor Engineering Challenge opens February 19. This year's challenge involves the design of a water flow inspired by ancient Banaue Rice Terraces.

Funimationnow Gacha Machine

We encourage you to have your students take this year's Fluor Engineering Challenge! Valid student submissions will be entered in a random drawing for a chance to win money for your school or nonprofit organization. Learn more about this year's water flow challenge and find complete rules, limitations, and guidelines on the Fluor Challenge page. Learn more about E-Week.

STEM in the Classroom

Engineering activities like the sorting machine project can be very effective as in-class projects for small groups. Teachers looking for similar classroom activities may want to check out the Balloon Car guided classroom activity. Additional classroom activities and Lesson Plans are available in the Teacher Resources area. To learn more about Lesson Plans, see Lesson Plans Help Teachers Put Hands-on Science on the Calendar.

The Gravity-Powered Sorting Machine activity from Science Buddies is posted at Scientific American in the Bring Science Home section.

Note: a version of this activity was the 2016 Fluor Engineering Challenge at Science Buddies. To find out more about the 2017 Fluor Engineering Challenge, visit www.sciencebuddies.org/fluor-challenge

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