For a Dragon Ball fan, Japan is a shopping paradise, offering all kinds of merchandise from figures to clothing to accessories and more!
As a Dragon Ball fan, I’m always pleasantly surprised when I run into posters, figurines, or other merchandise paying homage to the classic anime series by Akira Toriyama.
From my experience, you’ll spot Dragon Ball merchandise in so many different places in Japan, sometimes in the most unexpected places!
Arcades
Yup, some of the coolest Dragon Ball figures I’ve ever seen have been found in random arcades all over the country.
Often, they are part of a giant claw machine where you play to win, but from my experience, it’s nearly impossible to succeed.
However, you can usually buy the goods for a flat rate instead, though this depends on the policies of the arcade in question.
Gacha Machines
The concept of Gacha Machines often bewilders foreign tourists visiting Japan for the first time.
These dispensers are designed like a bubble-gum machine where you insert a coin, turn the lever, and win a prize enclosed in a plastic capsule sphere.
Japan is full of these Gacha Machines and you’ll find them in all kinds of places including shopping malls, arcades, train stations, convenience stores, and sometimes just randomly placed on the street!
Given that anime merch is often a core theme of these Gacha Machines, it’s no surprise that many are Dragon Ball-themed given the show’s immense global popularity.
Dedicated Merch Stores
Perhaps the best place of all to find an unfathomable amount of Dragon Ball merchandise is dedicated anime and manga merch stores.
The best stores I’ve found for Dragon Ball merch include Akihabara (largely regarded as the “anime town” of the world) and Nakano Broadway, both of which are in Tokyo.
These stores truly don’t hold back, selling the most niche figurines that you wouldn’t even have thought you wanted.
JUMP SHOP
You don’t need to go to Tokyo to find dedicated merch stores for Dragon Ball goods.
In fact, there are chain stores such as JUMP SHOP that can be found all over Japan that offer merchandise from Shōnen Jump, that is, the publication that brought us Dragon Ball (among many other popular manga).
I visited the branch at Osaka’s HEP FIVE shopping mall and was blown away by all the niche keychains and accessories.
Convenience Stores
Finally, my last recommendation is perhaps the most unusual place to find Dragon Ball merchandise: convenience stores.
Without fail, at every convenience store in Japan that I walk into, be it FamilyMart, 7-Eleven, or Lawson, I find some cool Dragon Ball collectibles on display.
Most recently, I purchased one of these cool Dragon Ball trading cards honoring the latest film Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero (came with a tasty rice cracker too!).
Of course, if you are planning to visit Japan, you’ll need a way to get around the country as efficiently and affordably as possible. Japan Rail provides an abundance of travel passes to suit your travel needs. So whether you are traveling individually or as a group, the JR Pass is every traveler’s go-to for getting around and making the most of your time in Japan!