Miso soup capsule toys
Gashapon machines, also known as capsule toy machines, are found all over Japan. These machines dispense a variety of things, including miniature food models such as canned food rings and sushi keychains. Now, you can also get your hands on mini miso soup food models from gashapon machines.
Mini miso soup capsule toys
Image adapted from: @SOTA170317
On 28th January 2021, Gakken, a book publisher in Japan, released a collection of mini miso soup gashapon toys in partnership with SO-TA, a company that sells capsule toys. These mini models are designed to look just like a real bowl of miso soup, which you can recreate using recipes from one of Gakken’s award-winning cookbooks.
Image credit: PR Times
In 2017, Gakken released a book on simple miso soup recipes. Written by celebrity chef Yukiko Seo, the book won the Cooking Recipe Book Award in 2018 and continues to be a popular recipe book today.
Image credit: @SOTA170317
The miso soup capsule toys are now available in gashapon machines throughout Japan. Each capsule contains one mini miso soup model and costs ¥400 (~USD3.81).
5 designs available
Image credit: @onekosama_ozabu
The collection features 5 different types of miso soup, each made with different ingredients:
- Pork, bean sprout, and spring onions
- Poached egg and onions
- Cabbage, fried tofu, and carrots
- Tomato and perilla
- Pumpkin, chicken thigh, and green onions
Image credit: @gachagacha_blog
Image adapted from: PR Times
Although the toys are small, look closely and you’ll notice the details that make each bowl so realistic. They’ve also managed to replicate how the particles of miso paste fall to the bottom of the bowl when the soup is left to settle.
In the bowl of soup with poached egg and onions, the egg yolk looks perfectly half-cooked and the dash of pepper looks as if it was just sprinkled prior to serving.
Capsule toys come with miso soup recipe
Image adapted from: PR Times
Besides getting the miso soup capsule toy itself, you’ll also get a recipe from Gakken’s miso soup recipe book. The recipe corresponds to the type of miso soup in the capsule. Although the recipe is in Japanese, it’s simple and there are pictures to guide you along.
Life-like miso soup capsule toys
If you’re currently in Japan, you can try your luck at getting one of these mini miso soup models from a gashapon machine. For those who aren’t in Japan now, you can purchase a full set of the toys on Yahoo, Amazon Japan, or Rakuten, and then use a freight-forwarding service.
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Cover image adapted from: @SOTA170317 and @gachagacha_blog