A sign of the times: Japan now has “hand sanitizer stand” gacha capsule toy machines

https://ift.tt/3hVfpQh Scott Wilson

Forehead-scan thermometer not included.

We’ve seen plenty of strange items available in Japanese gacha capsule toy machines, where you put in anywhere from 100 to 500 yen and get a random item from inside. Sometimes those items were love letters from schoolgirls, and sometimes they were keychains of botched art restorations.

But never before were they sobering reminders of our current society.

Until now! Tokyo resident Ambroise Velvet recently posted a photo of a gacha machine they saw in Harajuku that sold miniatures of hand sanitizer stands.

▼ Not sure if it’s ironic or not if you should probably make use of a hand-sanitizer stand yourself before/after purchasing.

We are here pic.twitter.com/hvSCOc9zEd

— Ambroise Velvet (@AmbroiseVelvet) July 9, 2021

The items are officially called “Antibacterial Disinfection Mascots,” though they’re a little different from the terrifying Japanese mascots that we’re used to. Right below the title in the upper left it says: “That thing at entrances/exits is now a mascot!”

The “mascots” come in five different varieties: foot-pump (white) plus push bottle, foot-pump (black) plus push bottle, stand style (gray) plus auto dispenser, stand style (white) plus spray bottle, and stand style black plus spray bottle.

You get one at random for 300 yen (US$2.72), and unfortunately the fine print says that none of the triggers/bottle actually move or contain disinfectant, but hey, at least now our dolls and action figures can pretend to be living like we have for the past year and a half.

▼ And if you want the experience of getting one without actually getting one, someone else took a video of themself snatching the last one.

Snagged the last one! pic.twitter.com/YeFkmhUTTN

— Jenny In Japan (@JennInJapan) July 10, 2021

While some commenters weren’t quite sure what to think of these “pandemic souvenirs,” or saw this as proof that we’re living in a simulation, most thought it was cute and the novelty alone was well worth 300 yen.

Now if we can just get super meta and have capsule toys of capsule hotels, that would truly be a dream come true… or further proof that we live in a simulation.

Source, top image: Twitter/@AmbroiseVelvet
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