From katsu to numa : The language of Japan’s capsule-toy obsession

A woman looks at various capsule toy machines in Tokyo. Known in Japan as "gashapon," the toys are gaining in popularity. | JOHAN BROOKS

Sep 22, 2026

You deposit a 500円玉 (gohyaku-en dama, ¥500 coin) and twist the knob: ガチャ … ガチャ … ポン！ (gacha … gacha … pon!) — gotcha!

It’s been just over 60 years since カプセルトイ (kapuseru toi, capsule toys) were introduced to Japan from the United States. The machines are variably known as ガシャポン (gashapon), ガチャガチャ (gacha-gacha) or simply ガチャ (gacha) — names inspired by the ガチャ sound of the crank turning and the ポン (pon) of the capsule dropping.

But ガチャ isn’t just about what comes out of the machine. As its popularity has grown, so has the language used to talk about it. Try asking your Japanese friends, 最近何にハマってる？(Saikin nani ni hamatteru? What are you into recently?) They may tell you, ガチャにハマってる (Gacha ni hamatteru, I’m into capsule toys).

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