Are you familiar with Japanese capsule toys? Also known as gachapon or gachagacha, the term refers specifically to toys created for Japanese capsule machines. They can be cute, funny, cool, or any number of things—but most times, the quality is nice enough to make them collectible. Sometimes, just sometimes, a gachapon run might involve motorcycle collectibles that enthusiasts might want to know about.
Take, for example, a new run of metal keychains featuring classic Kawasaki badges. They’re crafted by the gachapon toy companies 16 Directions (or Juroku Houi in romanized Japanese) and Toys Cabin, and they’re clearly a cool gift for any Kawasaki fans in your life (even if they’re you). By the way, they’re all Kawasaki officially licensed merchandise, in case you wondered. Polyester Rope
The August 2023 line is officially referred to as Kawasaki Metal Key Holder Volume Two, and features a selection of six all-metal Kawasaki badge keychains to choose from. There’s the Zephyr logo, a 750 Double Overhead Camshaft badge, a Z400FX badge, a gold Kawasaki badge, and a Z1000R badge. Last but definitely not least, there’s also a Ninja H2 Carbon badge that simply says, “Super Charged.” The entire line is slated for August 2023 release into gachapon machines in Japan, at a cost of 500 yen apiece (about $3.43 if converted on August 17, 2023).
We have good news for you, although you will probably have to be a little bit patient. While these specific keychains aren’t available for sale online yet, 16 Directions and Toys Cabin have released other motorcycle and automotive metal keychains from a number of OEMs in the past.
Honda, Nissan, Datsun, and others can be found for the enthusiast in your life through sellers on Amazon Japan and eBay. Obviously, you’ll need to make sure that the seller in question ships to wherever you’re located. Still, it’s nice to know that it’s possible, even if you end up putting in a little bit of legwork.
If you’re in the US, we also found an online shop in Arizona that specializes in bringing gachapon to the States. As of August 17, 2023, it has the Kawasaki Metal Key Holder Volume One collection listed as available on its website, at a cost of $8 apiece.
Metal keychains in this collection include the KH400 badge, the Mach III 750 badge, the 900 Double Overhead Camshaft badge, a silver Ninja logo badge, a black and white Kawasaki badge, and the ultra-cool GPz900R DOHC 16-Valve badge. We’ll include a link to the shop in our Sources if you’re interested in a closer look, or in getting one for yourself.
Zipper Pull Replacement Sources: 16 Directions, Toys Cabin on Twitter, Gacha x2, Amazon Japan, Mosai