Among the wide array of vending machines peddling items from the everyday to the obscure, one staple in Japan is the toy-dispensing "gacha gacha," which is named after the handle-turning noise that precedes the release of the plastic capsule.
While the majority of gacha gacha are aimed at children, a growing segment of the market is catering to "big kids" with a taste for the quirky.
Among the offerings luring adult gacha gacha buyers are the Smart Pants silicon smartphone covers shaped like underwear, and Kabuki Handkerchiefs, aimed at the overwhelmingly elderly and female fans of kabuki, which isn't normally a strong market for novelty toys.