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Japanese UFO catcher prizes just keep getting weirder…

Audrey Akcasu Jan 7, 2015
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soap

“Oh shoot, I’m out of dish soap, let’s go to the game center.” If this sentence seems incongruous, you clearly have not spent enough time in Japanese game centers. Sure game centers have good old fashion arcade games, air hockey and photo booths, but a lot of the space is taken up by UFO catchers (adorably pronounced, oo-fo in Japan), aka claw/crane games.

Usually, UFO catchers are filled with cute toys or cool figurines, but sometimes things get a little too practical. Other times, the prizes are just a bit… off. Twitter users across Japan have shared their strange finds with us before, but they just keep coming and they keep getting weirder.

▼ The slot machine area of game centers can reek of smoke, so we can kind of understand the incentive here.

この間行ったゲーセンにあった景品がファブリーズのみの台 pic.twitter.com/icSHQjiHno

— はいいろぐま (@haiiroguma22) May 27, 2013

▼ This machine might be catering to the bored mothers waiting for their children.

これが秋田のゲーセンや pic.twitter.com/ZhMJ8UvU9r

— ちーば (@nekoeco222) April 19, 2014

▼ Unless you are a UFO catching master, I doubt you’d save any money getting your soap this way. I’m pretty sure Daiso sells it.

今秋田のゲーセンでサランラップが取れるとありますが隣の台を見てみましょう pic.twitter.com/yxReZ9VJas

— えるん (@A_run_ra) April 19, 2014

▼ Who needs toys when you can win laundry detergent?

https://twitter.com/Gedou1341/status/498385966550093825

▼ You know the game center is pushing its limits when they offer trash bags in UFO catchers, but this machine has trash bags that you can only use in Tachikawa City.

https://twitter.com/Akisora_kanade/status/491535464990375937

▼ This may seem like an odd prize, but these backpacks, called randoseru, are used by every elementary school kid in Japan and cost between US$100-400. If you could get one in a UFO catcher, that’d be a steal!

https://twitter.com/roromi0x0/status/449127076344254464

**▼**One UFO catcher in Akihabara taunts customers with a wooden “samurai katana.” But you’d have to be pretty good to catch it…

【プライズ】
どどん！(和太鼓)
これ…クレーンゲームの景品なんだぜ…？
なんと木製の鑑賞用刀、『武士の刀』が登場です。外国からいらしたお客様にも大人気です！！(ﾟ∀ﾟ)ｸﾞｫﾒﾝ!
担当：店長　#akiba pic.twitter.com/YQxDRCOJqF

— タイステ秋葉原店 (@Taito_Akihabara) January 24, 2014

▼ Speaking of things hard to catch, a piece of real cake?

なんだこのUFOキャッチャーの景品はー！！wwww本物のケーキwwww pic.twitter.com/0dNjuQ8Lxb

— 🐏🌸∠小鳥遊👯🍑👾それは蒼い孤島の奇跡 (@Takanashi8111) January 16, 2014

▼ The game centers in the Ishikawa area, on the other hand, are apparently promoting healthy eating.

流石は石川のゲーセンやな pic.twitter.com/2UkokaaGAv

— AMON (@xxxxAMON) October 23, 2014

▼ Why go to the grocery store? You can even get salad dressing at game centers!

https://twitter.com/melody_cos/status/459313026038906880

▼ I’m pretty sure you can get these sweet potatoes from a stand on the side of the road for much less time and money.

ゲーセンのクレーンゲームの景品にサツマイモがあるんですが（） pic.twitter.com/E4b9WD0Gzu

— まさお (@ooyakesakana) November 4, 2014

▼ More sweet potatoes?!

https://twitter.com/morpho_1017/status/529835984100130817

▼ Uh… anyone want a charm with the face of the head plastic surgeon at the Takasugi Clinic…? Perhaps a picture of him shirtless?

https://twitter.com/miyazackey/status/534615043023699968

▼ Politician Ryutaro Nonomura may never live his crying press conference down, but at least he seems to have a cult following…

https://twitter.com/Spheld_fps/status/499452546000232449

**▼**Just a doormat to many, at least one guy is excited for this mat featuring stairs from Dragon Quest.

https://twitter.com/BLMNA/status/385045482864537600

▼ Oops! She forgot her skirt!

下北ゲーセンにて

にこにー・・ pic.twitter.com/8wMXvXmtdH

— 林堂スミヨシ@強謙No.79/80＿5/5オフ会開催！現在受付中 (@rindosumiyosi) October 28, 2014

▼ While this prize is pretty normal, it’s kind of an odd arrangement…

ゲーセン行ったら黒バス置いてあったんだけど配置が面白かったwwww pic.twitter.com/CMwstTtP4f

— りっか (@purigum) December 15, 2013

**▼**Given its popularity, one shouldn’t be surprised to find Youkai Watch toys in a UFO catcher, but wait… these are knock offs.

【狙った?】妖怪ウォッチっぽいキャラ…ゲーセンに登場http://t.co/ca3wekMrpN

クレーンゲームに、ジバニャンに似た「オーロラニャンコ」なる景品。隣に「妖怪ウォッチ」正規品があり、混同させかねない。　　 pic.twitter.com/nW1jkjMebm

— ライブドアニュース (@livedoornews) August 17, 2014

▼ It’s not a Youkai watch, it’s an “Ayakashi” watch. (Ayakashi means “suspicious,” ironically.)

https://twitter.com/asaduke9n/status/529970113772916736

**▼**And then there are those frustrating times when you were so close to getting your prize…

https://twitter.com/torauma__bot/status/392593999707402240

▼ That’s just the worst.

だれやゲーセンで5000かけてとられへん景品はないっていったやつぶっころすぞ pic.twitter.com/xhPWIwQNxe

— a (@ads_srmn) April 6, 2014

▼ And we finish off with perhaps the oddest of them all… A LIVE CAT?!

このUFOキャッチャーは、景品が、動くんです…。 pic.twitter.com/VNggH9FPHS

— yakisoba (@yakisoba) November 20, 2014

These prizes are pretty hard to beat in the strange category, but there is probably some good competition out there. What’s the weirdest prize you’ve come across? Let us know in the comment section below!

Source: Naver Matome