We buy random-destination airplane tickets from a Japanese gacha capsule vending machine

A new way to fly.

With a large proportion of the population now fully vaccinated, and the months-long state of emergency finally lifted, people in Japan are beginning to book holidays again, and one budget airline has come up with a very clever idea to get people back in the skies.

Called Tabikuji (“Journey Lottery”), the new promotion is the brainchild of Peach Aviation. They’re offering return tickets from either Tokyo’s Haneda Airport or Osaka’s Kansai International, to one of a number of destinations around Japan, and while the cost is surprising, the way they’re being sold is even more of an unexpected development.

▼ May we interest you in a plane ticket today?

That’s right — the tickets are being sold from a gacha capsule vending machine, with one located in Osaka and another in Tokyo.

And because you never know exactly what you’re going to get with these machines, as the capsules are dispensed at random, that’s the way Peach is selling their airline tickets as well.

▼ Each of these capsules contains the name of a mystery destination.

Those who try their luck at the machine in Tokyo will fly to one of the following destinations:

Sapporo Shin Chitose (CTS), Memanbetsu (MMB), and Kushiro (KUH) in Hokkaido, Kansai International (KIX) in Osaka, Fukuoka (FUK), Nagasaki (NGS), Miyazaki (KMI), Oita (OIT), and Kagoshima (KOG) in Kyushu, and Naha(OKA), New Ishigaki (ISG) and Amami (ASJ) in Okinawa.

With each go at the machine costing a mere 5,000 yen (US$43.82), this was a deal too good to pass up, so our intrepid reporter Mr Sato decided to try it out as soon as the machine opened to the public on 13 October.

▼ However, while the machine in Osaka accepts cash, the one in Tokyo requires cashless payment via the PayPay app.

Mr Sato scanned the QR code on the machine which took him to the above screen, which had “Tabikuji” displayed on it. After pressing the purple “支払” (“pay”) button at the bottom, he was taken to another screen to finalise the payment.

After pressing the blue payment button, a new screen popped up to let him know payment was now finalised, and just as that happened, the big red button on the machine lit up too.

The machine let out a few beeps as the red button flashed, and so Mr Sato hit the giant button to find out where he’d be flying to.

▼ The capsule popped out to the sound of a cute jingle, adding to the excitement and anticipation.

Our reporter opened the capsule to find a shiny slip of paper inside. Heart pounding with excitement, he unravelled the slip to reveal…

▼ OIT!! Congratulations, Mr Sato – you’re heading off to Oita Prefecture!

As Mr Sato grinned with delight at the destination he’d received, another gentleman sidled up to the machine to try his luck. He looked equally delighted at the destination he received, which he kindly shared with us.

▼ Congratulations! You’re heading off to Kushiro in Hokkaido Prefecture!

While this gentleman was heading up north to the cool climes of Hokkaido, Mr Sato was headed in the opposite direction, down to the southwest island of Kyushu. It just goes to show how randomly the destinations are dispensed by the gacha gods!

▼ To see Mr Sato using the machine, check out the video below:

Once you’ve received your destination slip, all that’s left to do is choose the date you want to travel between the time of purchase and 31 March, and register your code on the Peach site to book your round-trip ticket!

Mr Sato had a great time using the gacha machine, and now he’s got a lot of sightseeing to look forward to in beautiful Oita, which is famous for much more than its stunning hot springs!

Gacha Capsule Machine Information

Peach Aviation Tabikuji (“Journey Lottery”) / ピーチ航空「旅ガチャ（旅くじ）」
Address: Tokyo-to, Shibuya-ku, Udagawacho 15-1, Shibuya Parco 6F, special site next to the escalator
東京都渋谷区宇田川町15-1  渋谷パルコ 6F　エスカレーター横特設会場
Hours: 11:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m.

Images ©SoraNews24
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

Credit: