LATEST SELECTED CHECKS: 13 OCTOBER 2026
Research Log
Selected operator-source checks behind our store-search advice. We do not use this page as a scraped live inventory feed.
Smart Gashapon payment checks: October 13, 2026 (JST)
Reviewed Bandai’s Smart Gashapon page for the cashless-payment guide: named transport IC and QR methods, installation differences, no-cash operation and the select–pay–turn sequence. The page does not establish direct credit-card acceptance. No machine, payment app or card was tested. Earlier checks below retain their dates.
Checks: October 11, 2026
The October 11 entries cover only Ikebukuro stop selection and the separately checked Tokyo Station floor comparison. Dates and time zones are specified in each entry; this is not a recheck of every guide or source.
Ikebukuro stop selection — October 11, 2026 (JST)
Checked the four existing branches in the Ikebukuro guide: gashacoco Ikebukuro and Sunshine-dori list their own addresses, floors and standard hours; both are outside Sunshine City. The Department Store and Bandai Official Shop list Sunshine City World Import Mart 3F, with their relationship described by the flagship introduction.
Removed fixed machine counts rather than adding numbers with different scopes. The namco Ikebukuro shop is a separate facility and only a disambiguation note, not a fifth featured stop. The Department Store concept limits online stock search to the Bandai Gashapon Corner; published item information is not live stock proof. The original choice diagram shows visitor goals and a shared building/floor, not geographic positions or a measured route. Desk research only; no visit, payment-universality or physical-stock claim. Earlier checks retain their dates.
Tokyo Station floor comparison: October 11, 2026
Limited check: branch names, floors, gate access and published standard hours for the Tokyo Station guide. Bandai Official Shop @TOKYO STATION is in Tokyo Station Ichibangai B1, Tokyo Character Street, outside JR ticket gates, with standard hours 10:00–20:30. KENELESTAND Gransta Yaekita is in 1F Yaekita Shokudo (八重北食堂), outside JR ticket gates in the Yaesu North Exit area, with standard hours 10:00–21:00.
- Bandai operator: branch and B1 hours and Ichibangai shop directory.
- Ichibangai access: outside JR gates; points to Yaesu Underground Central gate, without establishing the nearest gate or shortest route to the shop.
- KENELESTAND operator locations and Gransta directory and floor map: 1F Yaekita Shokudo, gate access and standard hours agree.
The original floor comparison summarizes official location information. It is not a route map, survey or evidence of a visit, and does not show relative shop positions or travel times. No physical stock was checked; hours may change. Earlier dated checks below retain their original dates.
Earlier dated checks
The entries below retain their own check dates and scope. They were not reverified as part of the October 11 additions.
Harajuku arrival guidance — checked October 10, 2026 (UTC)
Checked gashacoco’s official CUTE CUBE Harajuku branch page for the address, first-floor location and published 10:00–20:00 hours, and CUTE CUBE’s official English access guide for the facility’s walking estimates: approximately four minutes from Harajuku Station’s Takeshita Exit, or five minutes from Exit 5 at Meiji-jingumae (Harajuku) Station on the Tokyo Metro Chiyoda or Fukutoshin line.
Updated the Harajuku guide to help readers choose the approach that fits their existing journey and leave time for browsing. We have not tested the route or checked current machine contents or stock. The guide’s app information retains its September 29 source check.
Read an explicit complete-BOX promise
Checked October 6, 2026 (UTC). KENELE STORE’s ぽっこし Figure Collection Vol.4 listing names a six-item complete BOX, lists six designs and says all types are included. It also states that delivery dates cannot be selected and cancellation/quantity changes are unavailable. We rechecked the ELLYLAND random multipack for the side-by-side contents-wording example. These are public description checks, not orders, product inspections or live-stock recommendations. Prices, delivered totals and destination eligibility remain unverified. Current reachability of the Vol.4 destination remains unverified.
Random multipack versus a complete set
Checked October 4, 2026 (UTC). The official ELLYLAND listing is a counterexample used in our offer-comparison guide: matching pack and line-up counts do not establish unique contents. No stock, price or purchase recommendation is made.
Inspect products before leaving Japan
Checked October 4, 2026 (UTC). Takara Tomy Arts’ support notice supports the maker-specific warning in our machine-use guide. The advice is not a policy for every manufacturer and does not promise a remedy before departure.
Akihabara: choose the correct side of the gates
Checked October 4, 2026 (UTC). Kenelephant confirms JR Akihabara Station 3F, inside the ticket gates, behind Sobu Line platform 6. Bandai Namco confirms the Department Store at 1-15-9 Sotokanda, 4F. Its namco building page confirms that separate address. The two-branch guide is our access-choice diagram, not a measured route or evidence of a visit. No current-stock claim is made.
Six Tokyo branches: names, access and standard hours
Checked October 2, 2026 (UTC; October 3 in Japan): the linked operator and facility pages support the branch details used in our six-stop Tokyo guide.
- GASHAPON Department Store Ikebukuro: 3-1-3 Higashi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo; World Import Mart Building 3F; outside railway ticket gates. Published hours 10:00–21:00.
- GASHAPON BANDAI OFFICIAL SHOP Tokyo Solamachi: 1-1-2 Oshiage, Sumida-ku, Tokyo; Tokyo Solamachi 4F, East Yard, Block 10; outside railway ticket gates. Published hours 10:00–21:00.
- KENELESTAND Akihabara: 1-17-6 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; JR Akihabara Station 3F, inside ticket gates; concourse behind Sobu Line platform 6. Published hours 10:00–21:00.
- KENELESTAND Gransta Yaekita: 1-9-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Gransta Yaekita 1F, Yaekita Shokudo; outside the Yaesu North ticket gates. Published hours 10:00–21:00.
- GASHAPON Department Store Akihabara: 1-15-9 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; 4F; outside railway ticket gates. Published hours 10:00–23:00.
- #C-pla Labo: 1-18-2 Jinnan, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Frame Jinnan-zaka, 1F and B1F; outside railway ticket gates. Published hours 10:00–21:00.
These are source checks, not visits, measured walking routes or live-stock checks. Standard hours can change. We link to the operators’ branch photographs without republishing their images.
Tokyo Station orientation and search coverage
The Bandai Tokyo Station branch page lists Tokyo Character Street on B1 and 10:00–20:30. First Avenue’s access page confirms the shopping area is outside JR gates. Its English B1 floor guide and official PDF map support orientation links in our Tokyo Station guide.
The gashacoco app help says product search excludes some branches; check the branch’s supported-functions label. Bandai’s Department Store pages label their online panels as Bandai Official Shop product information. That limits the panel’s coverage; it does not identify every maker in the physical store.
Earlier checks: October 1, 2026
The entries below preserve what was checked on that date; their dates have not been advanced by this update.
Ikebukuro flagship: store information
What we verified: Bandai Namco Amusement's English store page places the GASHAPON Department Store Ikebukuro Main Branch on Sunshine City World Import Mart Building 3F, shows 10:00–21:00 hours, and lists 3,775 installations.
Do not call the store for an inventory guarantee
What we verified: the same store page says staff cannot provide incoming-product, product-handling or stock-status information by phone. It also warns that the stock content shown online may differ from the actual store inventory.
One operator, two machine-count messages
What we verified: the operator's special-page headline says the flagship has more than 4,000 machines, while the store-information section on that page lists 3,775 installations. Because both appear on the operator's own pages, CapsuleVia does not treat a headline machine count as a permanent exact fact.