An iconic part of Japanese arcades is the UFO Catcher, or the crane game as it is known in the West. Unlike Western counterparts, UFO Catchers in Japan offer up more than just plush animals.

In the multi-story SEGA arcade, on the corner across from Akihabara station, UFO Catchers take up the entirety of the first four floors. Each floor is themed slightly differently but all games are tailored to anime fans.

In the first of a two part series of Window Shopping, we explore the second and third floor of the SEGA building. The UFO Catchers on these floor contain figures from some of Japan’s most popular anime such as One Piece, K-On, Evangelion, and Dragonball.

For fans, becoming skilled at the UFO Catcher is necessary to collecting some of these exclusive figures. For others, UFO Catchers can be a cheap way to get a desired prize, often for as little as 100 yen!

Next week FlutterScape explores the first and fourth floors of the SEGA arcade to show off some other interesting products available as UFO Catcher prizes.

Today the much hyped Evangelion Store opened in Harajuku. Since FlutterScape’s office is located just down the street, we took a little field trip to check out all the cool Evangelion merchandise.

On arrival we were greeted by a mob of Evangelion fans waiting for the doors to open. This gave us the opportunity to appreciate the attention to detail that went into creating the store. The exterior is mostly steel and glass with the NERV logo on the front of the building and silhouettes of all the main characters on back. There was even a special Evangelion Coke machine tucked away by the back exit. Once inside, the purple staircase and the hexagon motiv also further enhanced the overall experience.

As far as Evangelion goods, there was no shortage. This includes shirts, bags, watches, shoes, stationary, cups, and candies. In fact, many of the items in the store are exclusive to this location.

If you still need more, take a look at the cool Evangelion products on FlutterScape.