Don't know what I'm talking about? Imagine yourself standing in front of a candy dispenser. Its see-thru box is packed with ball-shaped plastic containers - each one of these filled with candy in various colors. Put a coin in and twist the lever-thingy - out comes candy. Well, "Gashapon" are exactly the same thing, except the capsule contains a small figure (about 2cm to 6cm) instead.

The Japanese history of this fun machine is quite long. There were many industries that dealt with capsule toys by the 1970s, the "if you are lucky you might get a great item" slogan coaxing folk into parting with 20 or 50 yen. Bandai entered the field in 1976, and despite their late entry, their Gashapon business took-off tremendously.