Japan has lots of collectible toys from gachapons to TOMY Tomica cars but one of the most popular items of merchandise is the ‘Blind Box’. They can be bought in most Kawaii gift or toy shops and major department stores.
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From Sanrio to Pop Mart, Pokemon to Mofusand, there are lots of Blind Box toys and collectors series to choose from, with highly decorated and ornate figures.
The cutest collectibles you’ll likely ever buy in Japan, here is our guide to blind box toys.
This article was originally published on 28 July 2024.
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What are blind box toys?
Normally, when you buy a toy or collectible, you’ll know what you are buying before-hand.
Blind box toys are mystery or random collectibles that are sealed in cardboard boxes or bags that you cannot see until you’ve bought and opened them.
To make doubly sure, toys in blind boxes are usually also bagged in foil packaging (whether or not this beats X-Ray machines, we aren’t sure)!
Most blind box toys are part of a collectible series and usually feature several different characters or models to choose from.
The Japanese have a term ‘Fukubukuro’ which is mystery bags full of old stock that are usually sold cheap in the New Year. This concept is now popular with the younger generation in terms of mystery toy boxes.
As you’ll likely get repeats and duplicates, trying to get a complete full set of a blind box toy series can get expensive.
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The popularity of blind box toys
There are now many online sellers of blind box toys – there are also dedicated shops in many Asian countries like Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, China and Hong Kong.
Blind boxes are becoming increasingly popular, plus there is a big resale market. Collectors like blind boxes as they never know what you are going to get (it’s a mystery which is kind of fun) plus some sets have super rare figures (often referred to as ‘easter eggs’).
There are so many cute collectible series launched all the time that buyers will never get bored quickly (budget permitting). Pop Mart is said to launch a minimum of one new blind box series a week.
Manufacturers like blind boxes as it means consumers sometimes will buy more toys than they need, in search of the full collection (a very clever sales and marketing technique).
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Love cute and ‘kawaii’ stores in Japan?
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• Tokyo Character Street stores
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• Doraemon Future Department store
• B-Side Label stores
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• Best Gachapon Capsule toys
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Plus our guide to the best kawaii things to do in Tokyo >
How to buy blind boxes in Japan
There are several ways to buy blind boxes – these days, blind box stores like Pop Mart are opening up all the time in big Japanese shopping centers.
Other Japanese retailers like BIC Camera, Hands and Don Quijote also stock blind box toys in Japan.
In addition to blind box shops, we’ve also seen blind box vending machines which operate 24 hours a day and are fully automated – like the Pop Mart Robo Shops.
If you aren’t going to Japan, you can buy blind box toys online or second-hand on ebay (although it is less of a mystery if they’ve already been opened).
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Blind box tactics
If you want to reduce the chances of getting duplicates, there are a few things you can do.
Buy a whole set
Some blind box retailers like Pop Mart sell sealed sets of 12 boxes which will include no repeat figures.
If you are big fan of a certain series, this is an easy win as you get all unique figures plus the odd ‘Easter egg’!
Shaking blind boxes
So we don’t know if this works or not, but we’ve seen several people in collector shops shake boxes and feel the weight, as if this will help them determine which one of the series it is.
Some stores now have signs asking customers to not open, shake or weigh the boxes before purchase.
Second-hand
Certain collectors sell their duplicate / opened blind boxes on sites like ebay so you know what you are buying upfront – but it takes away some of the mystery.
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Spotlight on Pop Mart
Pop Mart is a Chinese collectible toy company that is famous for its blind boxes and Kawaii cartoon characters.
Pop Mart blind boxes are available in over 20 countries (including Japan) and there are around 350 Pop Mart stores and over 2,000 physical Pop Mart vending machines worldwide.
Pop Mart has thousands of different individual toys and sets to collect including popular series like Molly, Skull Panda, Dimoo and Hirono, plus tie-ins with big companies and character franchises like Disney and Harry Potter.
Pop Mart has grown rapidly since it began as a small store in Beijing by founder Wang Ning in 2010.
Just 10 years later in 2020, it sold 50 million toys in one year alone – blind boxes are big business. It is now regarded as the biggest blind box company in the world.
As of summer 2025, there are 10 permanent Pop Mart shops in Japan including stores in Harajuku, Shibuya, Shinsaibashi, Shinjuku and Ikebukuro – in addition there are 17 Pop Mart Robo Shops.
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Blind box stores in Japan
So where are the best shops in Japan to buy blind boxes and collectible toy series? The following Japanese stores stock blind boxes in big quantities:
- Loft
- Hands (formerly Tokyu Hands)
- Don Quijote
- Bait
- Village Vanguard
- Pop Mart
- Toys R Us
- BIC Camera
- Hakuhinkan Toy Park in Ginza
- Kiddy Land in Harajuku
- Animate anime speciality store
- Rakuten (online)
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Popular blind box characters
There are thousands of different blind box characters and collections but some of the more popular blind box series include:
- Molly
- Skull Panda
- Dimoo
- Disney
- Miffy
- Kirby
- Ultraman
- Line Friends
- Garfield
- Pokemon
- Sumikko Gurashi
- Hello Kitty and other Sanrio characters
- Snoopy
- Mofusand
- Pui Pui Molcar
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Miniature food blind boxes
It isn’t just cartoon collectibles or Kawaii figures that come in mystery boxes – you can even get blind box food series like this Yoshinoya miniature collection.
Many famous Japanese chain restaurants like Denny’s, Ichiran, Saizeriya and Mister Donut have their own gachapon or blind box collections. Certainly food for thought!
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Gachapon
Finally, you could class gashapon capsule toys as the original form of blind boxes (or should we say ‘blind balls’)?
Popular with otaku (オタク – Japanese pop culture) and visiting tourists, Gachapon machines in Japan are vending machines that dispense capsule toys in a small round plastic case.
Did you know the word gachapon actually derives from the sounds made as you collect your capsule toy – ‘gacha / gasha’ for the ratchet noise as you crank the turning wheel on the vending machine? Whilst ‘pon’ relates to the noise of your round capsule landing in the toy tray at the end. Cool!
Check our guide to the 40+ coolest and most unusual gachapon capsule toys in Japan >
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