A Kuji Guide: All You need to know and more!
What is Kuji? How can I get my hands on these cool prizes? Where can I buy Kuji? Check out this guide for the answers to these questions and more…
Update May 2023 Updated the Animate Kuji Section with some of my new wins and other general information ^ ^
Over the years, I have received several questions from fellow fans about the Kuji prizes that I have won. So, I’ve decided to do up a mini-guide about Kuji (くじ)! My guide on Nendoroids: A Guide on Buying Nendoroids , Figurarts Vs Nendoroids and Pokemon Cafe were pretty well-received, so here’s hoping this guide would be useful to you too. ^ ^
So in this Kuji guide, I will share with you:
- What is Kuji?
- The different types of Kuji (It’s not all just Bandai! Although 90% of it is.)
- My Kuji Loot (Some)
- Fun Facts and Tips on Kuji
- Where to buy Kuji
Remember, if you have any questions about anime goods and/or manga, feel free to ask away. I’ll try my best to help you. ^ ^ Why? Because I’m always happy to share what I know with fellow fans!
Page Contents
Introduction (My Kuji History)
Kuji has been increasingly gaining popularity outside of Japan in recent years. Chances are, you probably have played some yourself OR seen someone sharing their prizes on Instagram and Twitter (Me! LOL)
I myself have been playing Kujis for about 10 years. Back then, it was still pretty rare and hard to find outside of Japan.
However, I am happy to say that it is NOW increasingly easier to get Kujis (at least in my country) , with more shops bringing them in. ^ ^ I’ve noticed it’s the same across many countries in Asia. Unfortunately, Kuji is still rather rare in US and Europe.
Nonetheless, there is still a bright side for the USA and Europe folks to get your hands on some kujis! Check out the section on “Online Kuji and Video Kuji!”
My number one pet peeve about playing Kuji though, is that with more people NOW playing Kuji, the tickets gets sold out quicker. TT
The main problem is that there are those who would BUY the entire set of Kuji and then sell the prizes. *shakes head* Part of the fun is the surprise element, no?
Moreover, some people are just so damn lucky! Like you know how you tried 10 times to get that ONE prize you really wanted and someone just bought one ticket and got it instead. T T
This happened with one of the JoJo Kujis. And the guy who won the prize didn’t even looked happy with it. Anyway, enough ranting, I’m here to answer some of your questions about kuji and more! ^ ^
Hopefully, this shouldn’t be as long as my other guide on buying Nendoroids hahaha… let’s see. Okay Then! Are you ready? Let’s dive straight in!
What is Kuji?
Kujis are what you will call a sure-win lottery. Think of it as a raffle and/or lottery where there are fixed prizes in which you can win. You typically buy a ticket, draw a ticket from a box or an air sphere (more on those later) and then open up the ticket to see which prize you have won.
Every ticket allows you to win a prize. And as with all raffles and lucky draws and lotteries goes, there’s always the big prizes and the smaller prizes. There’re usually 60 to 80 prizes (tickets) that can be won in a single set.
In Japan (where most Kuji originates from), the typical price of a ticket is 680 yen to 880 yen (tax included). It might be more expensive, depending on the exclusivity and types of prizes. Furthermore, depending on where you are, the ticket price will then differ from country to country. Why? The difference in prices is likely due to shipping costs and currency conversion.
Note: Kuji with cosmetic prizes and/or purely figurines tend to be priced on the higher side.
For simplicity sake, most of the mechanics and kuji references in this post will be that of Ichiban (Bandai) Kujis unless stated otherwise.
How to play Kuji?
Here’s a step by step guide from Bandai (BPNAVI) Ichiban Kuji Club:
In a nutshell, you tell the staff which Kuji series you want to play and the number of tickets you like. After paying for them, draw the number of corresponding tickets from a box. You’ll then tear open the ticket (or open it up) and see what corresponding prize you have.
Note: Outside of Japan, there usually isn’t a purchase ticket. Chances are you will just go straight to the cashier to get the Kuji Ticket. The Double W chance is only available in Japan too.
February 2021: Good News! Singapore and Malaysia has started the Double W Chance too!
If it is a prize that allows you to choose the designs, let the staff know which design you want and they will pass you the prize. If the prize is fixed or in a blind packaging, the staff will either pass you one or you get to pick a random box.
How are the Kuji prizes structured?
As with all lotteries, there is a hierarchy to the prizes that can be won. The more valuable and rarer (and in some cases, expensive) prizes are naturally at the top of the hierarchy, typically with only 1 to 3 quantities each. Often, there is also a last prize which can be won by buying the last ticket of the kuji you are playing.
Naturally, the top prizes are located in Prize A to D. Prize A and Prize B usually only have 1 to 2 quantities. Prize C and D will typically have 3 or 4 quantities each. For Ichiban Kuji, the top prizes are usually figurines, plushies or cushions.
Note: There are generally 60 to 80 tickets in one kuji series.
Most of the time, the prizes in the last two tiers are in blind packaging and a random choice. This means that you can’t choose the designs.
Note: The above prize structure largely refers to the Ichiban Kuji by Bandai/Banpresto. For more information on what some of these prizes are, please refer to the “Different Types of Kuji” for more information
For the Atari (Sanrio) Kujis, they have a slightly different structure and the type of prizes have some slight differences as well. Check out the section on “Different Types of Kuji” for more information.
Different Types of Kuji You can Play!
As mentioned at the start, there are indeed many different kinds of Kuji from different companies. I would say 80% of Kujis today are anime and game based, with another 20% related to pop culture (e.g. singers, movies, brand franchises like Disney etc.)
The concept and system for all Kujis are largely the same. The key difference lies in the types and quantities of prizes to be won.
In this section, I’ll be sharing on some of the different types of Kuji you could play and win! (It’s not all just Bandai! Although 90% of it is.)
Ichiban Kuji by Bandai/Banpresto
As an anime/manga fan, most of you are probably familiar with Bandai. They are one of the largest anime goods manufacturer and sponsor of anime. The most popular and well-known anime IP under Bandai? Dragon Ball. So naturally, there are a lot of Dragon Ball Kuji in existence. ^ ^
Fun Fact: 80% of the kujis available in the market today are by Bandai and its affiliated companies/brands.
If you are a shonen manga/anime fan, chances are your favourite title has received the Kuji Treatment (especially if it is a Jump Title) Examples include: Dragonball, One Piece, My Hero Academia, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba; JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. The list goes on.
Popular shoujo and other genres of anime/manga have also seen its fair share of (repeated) Kujis. Examples include: Sailormoon; Card Captor Sakura, Natsume Yuujincho; Crayon Shin-Chan; Bungo Stray Dogs, Neo Genesis Evangelion.
Game Franchises are also a mainstay of Ichiban Kujis. Some examples include Touken Ranbu; Pokemon; Animal Crossing; Super Mario and many more.
For every Kuji, there will be a poster with all the available prizes indicated on it. When a prize has been won, the shop would stick the ticket (or something equivalent) over it.
This allows you to see what prizes are still up for grabs or how many tickets is needed to get the last prize. This is very important so be sure to always ask what are the prizes left before you play!
The prizes in Ichiban Kujis for most anime titles generally includes figurines, plushies, hand towels (handkerchiefs), Big (bath) towels; cups & drinking glasses, plates, clear files, acrylic charms/stands, rubber key chains and posters/visual boards.
Update May 2023: The past 2 years have seen a new type of addition to the Bandai/Banpresto Kujis which are the super cute Chokokko figures (ちょこのっこフィギュア)! Alas, oftentimes, these figures are either in blind boxes or each character is designated as an individual prize tier, which makes collecting them a challenge. Unless of course you know where to look ^ ^ as there are other means to collect these.
From time to time, you may also get interesting prizes such as water bottles, cup noodle character stoppers, cosmetic storage boxes, towel hoodies (yes it’s a thing. I actually own a few), hand sanitizers, tissue boxes, stationary and cushions. Check out some of my loot in the “What can you win?” section.
Ichiban Coffret
Perhaps as a testament to the growing recognition of the spending power of fangirls (^ ^), Bandai has created a sub-brand of kujis with prizes made up entirely of cosmetics and related products. How neat is that? I myself have played a few and ended up with way too many eyeshadows lol. Case in point:
Ichiban Online 
Good News! Bandai has renewed and relaunched its Online Kujis service in 2021. This means you can PLAY their selected Kuji titles/series online and have the prizes shipped directly to your address (Note: Japan only). For those outside Japan, you can check out how to get a Japanese forwarder address in my guide: Geeky Goods Spotlight: Forwarder, Buying Service & Proxy Bidding (Anime Goods)
- Check out the Kuji titles available for online play here
- You need to register for an account with CharaOS before you can buy/play. Instructions will be given on the Online Kuji Page
- Select the number of Kuji tickets you would like to play
- 1 time delivery fee of 500 yen (Japan address) per order.
How to Buy and Play?
After signing up for an account, select the number of tickets for the Kuji series you want to play and pay for it. Choose the Kuji ticket and check out the prizes you won! The prizes will then be shipped to your address in Japan. Credit Card payment is acceptable. ^ ^
Where to Buy and Play Ichiban Kujis?
Please always check the respective campaign page for the list of Japanese stores that carries the Kuji. It may differ for different series.
Japan
- Official Japanese website: https://bpnavi.jp/s/
- Official Japanese Twitter Account here
- Where to play in Japan: All Jump Shops, Game Centers, Anime Goods Shops (including second-hand goods shops) & selected convenience stores. Bandai has recently launched an Ichiban Kuji Physical Store in Tokyo (end 2020) as well.
- Where to play in Japan Part II: Good News! Ichiban Kuji has restarted its online kujis so you are able to play selected Kuji series on their website here. Find out more in the section “Ichiban Online”
Outside of Japan:
- Several anime goods shops in your country might carry it. You can check the list of shops here. Note that the website a little wonky. The international page UI isn’t really user-friendly. It’s still best to check with your local anime goods store.
- Online Kujis and Video Kujis (Check out this section on shops that does worldwide shipping)
- Good News! Ichiban Kuji has restarted its online kujis so you are able to play selected Kuji series on their website here. You would need a Japanese forwarder address though. Check out my guide on how to get one.
- Bandai/Banpresto has an English/Overseas Page you can check for updates too. They also list their global distribution network and contact information. Refer to the information here
- For Singapore/Malaysia fans, there’s an official Facebook Fan Club account and they have even recently launched a WhatsApp Account.
Ichiban Brand
Speaking of Prizes, Bandai also has a few sub-brands featuring specific “prizes” in the Ichiban brand. Since I’m already talking about Bandai, I figured that I’ll share on this as well.
1. Ichiban Print
I thought I’ll just add this in here because I believe not many international fans know about this. ^ ^ Bandai has a printing service キャラマイドwhere you can print photo-cards of popular anime and game titles at the copy-machines in convenience stores (e.g. 7-11; Family Mart; Lawson). It could be exclusive new illustrations or cut-scenes of anime episodes. You can select the “images” or “photos” you want for print. Each Photo-card is 200 yen to 400 yen, depending on the size.
Note: The convenience stores that the print campaign is available differs from campaign to campaign. Please always check the official website for the most updated information.
It might look a tad daunting but I assure you that its quite easy to use. I’ve printed a few photo-cards myself when I was in Tokyo. ^ ^ All you need is the print reservation code number (プリント予約番号) of the “image” you want to print. For example, the copy-machine in 7-11 has an English option so you can follow the general instructions in English. Every Print Campaign will have detailed instructions on how to use the printing service in different convenience stores (Lawson and Family Mart uses different machines from 7-11) .
Please note that this service is only available in Japan. Bandai has recently introduced Ichiban (Character) Print in Taiwan too but it is still very much limited in campaigns.
Find out more information about the print service here: https://bpnavi.jp/s/print/pc
Ichiban Print Kuji
Okay, this is where it gets a little tricky. From time to time, Bandai releases Ichiban Print campaigns that you CAN’T CHOOSE the “images”/illustrations for print. It is aptly called the Ichiban Print Kuji. Case in point:
Find out more information about how it works here: https://bpnavi.jp/s/print/pc/koipro_p1/prizes
2. Ichiban Umbrellas
Yes, you read that right. Under its Ichiban brand, Bandai also has anime/game themed umbrellas that you can get your hands on! They call it charasol. ^ ^
Similar to the Ichiban Print, Ichiban Charasol has a kuji version and a non-kuji version, i.e. some campaigns allow you to choose the design of the umbrellas, whereas some don’t (Surprise!)
Check out more information here: https://bpnavi.jp/charasol/
Atari Kuji by Sanrio
Did you know that Sanrio has its own kuji as well? If you didn’t, well now you know! ^ ^
I personally really like the Sanrio prizes because they are really useful and adorable. Plus the top prizes are super attractive. For example, you can actually win items like vacuum cleaners; luggage (suitcase); coffee-machine; humidifiers and so forth!
As you can see from the images of various campaigns in this section, the prizes in the Sanrio Atari Kuji series typically involves household and storage products, i.e. eco-bags, tote-bags, electrical appliances (e.g. toasters! Cooking pans), cutlery, cushions and plushies. And because its Sanrio, plushies are also part of its line-up of prizes. The best part of it? It is all prized at an affordable 700 yen to 900yen a ticket!
How to play?
Interestingly, unlike Ichiban (Bandai), Sanrio’s kuji tickets are triangle in shape! ^ ^ Also, there is only 1 quantity of every design and every prize. (Ichiban has multiple quantities of most prizes).
Steps:
- Approach the staff and tell them which Kuji series you want to play and how many
- Pay for the tickets
- Draw the number of tickets you have played for
- Hand the tickets to the staff to reveal your prizes (Outside of Japan, you open it yourself; Video Kujis, the proxy drawing your tickets will open it)
- If you bought the last ticket, you will receive an additional Last Prize!
Oh, and if you happen to be playing the kuji in a Sanrio Store in Japan, chances are you will be reaching into an air bubble sphere with the tickets flying around. ^ ^ Grab the quantities you have paid for and hand it to the staff to reveal your prize. ^ ^ It’s an additional layer of fun! (However, due to the pandemic, Sanrio might have discontinued the practice. Please check with the staff)
Note: Similar to Ichiban Kuji, Atari Kuji also has a W Chance Campaign for selected series. This is only applicable to the kujis bought in Japan and if you have a Japanese Address to receive the prize.
One of my best wins at the Sanrio Kuji was a mini foldable table! Look at how cute and functional this is. I had originally wanted the vacuum cleaner but winning the table is still good. It’s really useful.
Fun Fact: I won the table at a Sanrio Shop during my trip to Osaka and I had to carry it all the way back to Tokyo and then back to my country! I had played the same kuji in my country but all I got was a small tote bag and a pencil case.
Information
- Sanrio official Atari Kuji webpage: 当りくじ – オールキャラクター
- Where to play in Japan: All Sanrio Shops & selected convenience stores (e.g. Family Mart)
- Where (outside Japan):
- Several anime goods shops in your country might carry it
- Overseas Sanrio Stores or Japanese Department Stores
- Video Kujis (check out this section on online shops that does worldwide shipping)
Note: Please always check the campaign page for the list of stores that carries the Kuji. It may differ for different series. Enter 当りくじ into the search field on the Sanrio website if you can’t locate the updated list of upcoming campaigns and the corresponding release schedule.
Minna no Kuji by FuRyu
FuRyu (フリュー株式会社) is yet another Japanese company that has created Kujis for quite a number of anime and game titles. While the range, frequency and quantity may not be as much as Bandai, the Kuji prizes are equally attractive.
Loosely translated as “Everybody’s Lottery”, Minna no Kuji actually has been around for quite some time. Unfortunately, they are not as well-known overseas as compared to Bandai’s Ichiban Kuji. Similar to Bandai, FuRyu is also a pretty prolific anime goods manufacturer, including prizes for crane games.
So, what can you win from a FuRyu kuji?
Well, based on my observation and my own loot of the last few years, Blankets, Plushies and Cup Noodles Stoppers are generally a mainstay of Minna no Kujis’ prizes. This means that the top prizes are usually a variation of these items. Towels, Plushies storage containers, dessert (sweets) plates and cutlery are also some of the more common prizes as well.
Here’s some of the prizes I won from previous Minna no Kuji collaborations with Yowamushi Pedal ^ ^
Information:
- Official Japanese Kuji Website: https://charahiroba.com/minkuji/
- Twitter Account: https://twitter.com/minnanokuji
- Where to buy in Japan: Selected Convenience Stores (e.g. Lawsons; Family Mart), Book-Stores, Game-Centers, Anime Goods Shops (including second-hand goods shops)
Animate Kuji (くじメイト)
Is it any surprise that our favourite anime goods shop has its own Kuji? ^ ^
Interestingly, in Japan they seemed to have stop selling their Kujis in the physical shops. (Appreciate it if someone in Japan can confirm this for me?) Instead, it seems that they have now moved it online and rebranded it as Kuji Mate (くじメイト)!
Basically, what this mean is that you after buying the tickets on their webstore , you will get the prizes mailed to your address (in Japan).
I’ve recently tried playing Kuji Mate for the very 1st time in September 2021, so I’ve added a How to buy and play section!
This is pretty neat because it means international fans (like me) might be able to get our hands on it via a proxy buying service OR via a Japanese forwarder address.
Check out my guide on Geeky Goods Spotlight: Forwarder, Buying Service & Proxy Bidding (Anime Goods) to find out how you can get one. Also, my recommendation is to join Club Animate as well. Signup is free and you can accumulate points for your purchase. A membership is also needed for Animate Cafes’ reservations.
Here’s the direct link to the Kuji Mate Page on Animate for easy reference.
- Update 2022: Each Kuji Ticket cost 660 yen – 1100 yen (tax inclusive) with additional delivery cost for the prizes won.
- Update 2022: For selected campaigns, Animate is now selling the full set (1 carton box) of Kujis too! This means you will get all the prizes, including the special prize (if any).
- Delivery within Japan is free with minimum purchase of 6,600 yen (tax inclusive)
- For selected campaigns, every 10 tickets bought in one order will entitle you to a free novelty item (e.g. Postcard; Bromides)
- Kuji Mate is exclusively sold by Animate mail order (i.e. it will not be sold in Animate physical shops)
- Animate Kuji also does Kujis for BL titles! ^ ^
- Each Campaign Page will actually list the winning percentage (probability) of a particular prize
- No exchange of prizes will be entertained
- Prizes are usually sent 2 to 3 months after the campaign has ended.
Note: I think Taiwan Animate still sells some Animate Kuji in their physical store. I recall seeing it in 2019 during my trip to Taipei. (Can someone confirm this for me?)
How to Buy and Play?
The entire process is honestly really easy and straight forward.
- Select the Kuji Series (Title) you want to play.
- Select the number of tickets to buy via a drop down box (Max. of 10 tickets per purchase)
- Add to cart (it’s a blue button with a shopping cart icon)
- Check out and make payment. (If you have a club animate account/card, you can earn animate points!)
After payment, the screen will immediately jump to the tickets page (In my case, I bought 10 tickets).
Just click on the each of the “squares” and the “ticket” will flip up to show you the prize that you won. Once you have opened all the tickets, you will be directed to a page that shows all the prizes that you have won.
Note: You will also receive an email detailing your order and the number of tickets you have bought. However, unlike Web Kuji, Kuji Mate (Animate Kuji) does not list the prizes you have won in their email to you.
In any case, you can always log in to your Animate Online Shop account to see your prizes. Animate will email you again when the items are ready to be shipped to you.
What type of prizes can you win?
The prizes for Animate Kuji Mate is more similar to that of FuRyu’s Minna no Kuji with Blankets, (sports) towels, acrylic stands being some of the mainstay prizes. Often, there’s also tapestries , can badges, acrylic boards, cups among others as well.
I’m happy to share that Animate Kuji has now introduced new types of prizes, which led to different prices for their kujis, including an ALL PLUSHIE kuji! You read that right, all the prize tiers are plushies!!
Animate calls it Nuigurumi Kuji (ぬいくじ) and an example of it is the Tokyo Revengers Nuigurumi Kuji! And you know I just had to try playing it. ^ ^ And I did! There’s another Tokyo Revengers Nuigurumi Kuji ongoing so all the best!
New: Recently Animate has started debuting Seiyuu Kujis ^ ^ Yes, you read that right. It’s a Voice Actor Kuji! Prizes ranges from thematic voice files to signed Shikishis to specialized voice recordings with your name, and sometimes even Zoom Meeting session with the Seiyuu! And so far, the Seiyuus are quite renowned names! There’s Hayami Sho (速水奨) ; Kazuhiko Inoue (井上和彦) and likely many more to come. ^ ^
Update May 2023: Click on the links below to existing and past Kuji Mate campaigns to check out the prizes. Good Luck!
 | 東京リベンジャーズ ぬいくじ2 (Tokyo Revengers) |
 | 進撃の巨人 くじメイト (Attack on Titan) |
 | 新テニスの王子様 RisingBeat くじメイト Best team！ 四天宝寺ver. (New Prince of Tennis) |
 | 速水奨のくじメイト (Hayami Sho) |
 | 家庭教師ヒットマンREBORN! くじメイト (Katekyō Hitman Reborn!) |
 | 「GetBackers-奪還屋-」くじメイト |
 | 「地縛少年花子くん」くじメイト (Toilet-bound Hanako-kun) |
 | 「東京リベンジャーズ ぬいくじ」くじメイト (Tokyo Revengers) |
 | 「天官賜福」くじメイト |
 | ヴァニタスの手記 くじメイト (Vanitas no Carte, The Case Study of Vanitas) |
 | 「夜明けの唄」くじメイト (Lullaby of the Dawn) |
 | コヨーテ くじメイト (Coyote) |
 | 嫌いでいさせて くじメイト |
Side-note: The first Kuji Mate series that I played was “Coyote” (コヨーテ) ^ ^ If you are above 18 years of age and read BL, I highly recommend this manga series by 座裏屋蘭丸 (Ranmaru Zariya) Sensei. I’m quite happy with my prizes (even though I missed out on the elusive Prize A tapestry) The third Kuji Mate series that I played was “Lullaby of the Dawn”「夜明けの唄」which I also highly recommend a read for BL fans. I’ve included the link to the Kuji Mate Campaign Page in the table in the above section.
Online & Video Kujis
Seeing how we are now increasingly spending half of our lives more time and buying things online, it is only natural that we start to see Online Kujis! ^ ^ These are Kujis that are only available online and not sold in any physical shops. Prizes won will be mailed to your address (Japan only). For overseas fans, especially those in USA/Europe, online kujis provides an opportunity for us to get our hands on these kuji prizes, using a forwarder service!
I’ll be sharing on one such Online Kujis in the next section. There are plenty more online Kujis out there for you to explore.
As for Video Kujis, these are basically retail shops that are using live-stream videos (e.g. YouTube) to sell/open Kujis (often Bandai’s Ichiban Kujis). These shops offers world-wide shipping of the prizes so its an another way for overseas fans that has no access to Kujis in their countries to get their hands on the prizes.
Some examples of Anime Goods Shop that does Video Kujis with international shipping:
- Otaku House (Worldwide)
- Hakken! (Worldwide)
- Anime Festival Asia (AFA) Shop (Worldwide)
- Kuji Connect (*Only within/to USA)
Please note that each shop has its own rules. So always check with them before you order online with them.
Web Kuji by D-techno
Web Kuji (WEBくじ) is relatively young in the Kuji World, compared to Bandai and Animate. Nevertheless, its Kujis are rather exciting and the exclusive prizes are actually quite impressive.
I’m happy to share that I’ve only very recently found out about Web Kuji and wow, I think there’s no going back now. ^ ^ I actually went ahead and played my very 1st Web Kuji (Web Kuji x Yuu Yuu Hakusho Part 4 Winter Campaign!) so that I could update this section! ^ ^ Web Kuji is likely be one of the Kujis I’ll be playing often, if budget permits.
Mini September 2021 Update: I’ve since played a few more Web Kujis and received my prizes! ^ ^ Including Hunter x Hunter! 🙂
- Each Kuji Ticket cost 690 yen (inclusive of tax)
- Delivery Fee (inclusive of handling/packing) is 550 yen for up to 10 tickets
- Maximum 10 tickets per order
- Every 5 tickets bought in an order gets you a free (random design) novelty item. Examples include coasters and post-cards.
- Delivery is only within Japan. No international delivery.
- Prizes are made to order and will be delivered to your Japanese address in 2 to 2.5 months after the campaign is over.
How to Buy and Play?
The entire process is pretty easy and quite similar to those gacha-systems in mobile games.
After signing up for an account, select the number of tickets for the Kuji series you want to play and pay for it. Credit Card payment is acceptable. After payment, click on the “Kuji (lottery) result” button to the Kuji (lottery) result page to “open” your tickets. ^ ^
Click on each of the tickets to reveal your prize! ^ ^ For Web Kujis, you will not be able to choose the design of your prizes, i.e. each prize correspond to one design (similar to how Atari Kuji Prizes are structured).
You will also receive an email detailing the prizes you have won, including the designs of the novelty items (if any). For the YYH campaign that I played, it was coasters. ^ ^
And I’m pretty happy with the prizes I won! Now to wait for it to be made and shipped to me!
Update: Here are my Prizes ^ ^ And yes I played 20 tickets.
Information
- Official Japanese Kuji Website
- Official Twitter Account
- Guide to getting a forwarding address: Geeky Goods Spotlight: Forwarder, Buying Service & Proxy Bidding (Anime Goods)
My Loot!
(What can you win?)
This section is basically just an excuse to show off some of my loots! Hoping it would entice you to start playing Kuji too! ^ ^
Fun Facts & Tips
Fun Fact 1: In Japan, the staff will usually open the tickets for you. For overseas, I’ve noticed its mainly DIY – You’ll tear open the tickets yourself. Moreover, if you win any of the top prizes ( e.g. Prize A) in Japan, the staff will typically ring a bell. So, if you hear the bell, someone has just won themselves some fabulous prizes. ^ ^
Fun Fact 2: If you managed to buy the very last ticket of an Ichiban Kuji or Atari Kuji, you’ll get an additional last prize! Here were some of the last prizes I managed to get before. (It’s getting harder nowadays)
Fun Fact 3: There is an Ichiban Kuji Fan Club that you can join! Membership is free. If you are in Japan, I recommend you to sign up and become an Ichiban Kuji Club member. Signing up is free here but you would need a Japanese address. A workaround is to get a forwarder address. Check out my guide: Geeky Goods Spotlight: Forwarder, Buying Service & Proxy Bidding (Anime Goods) to find out how you can get one.
Fun Fact 4: A few years ago, there was an Ichiban Kuji Club for Southeast Asia, where you can earn bonus points with each kuji ticket. These bonus points could be used to redeem exclusive prizes. It has since been discontinued. In 2021 though, they have started the Double W chance for Singapore/Malaysia!
Fun Fact 5: Bandai has launched a dedicated Ichiban Kuji Shop in Japan 2020! Previously, you can only buy the tickets at selected convenience shops (e.g. Family Mart), character goods shops; anime/manga shops; bookstores and game centers. Find out more in the “Bandai” section. Its official twitter account has also reached over 100 thousand followers!
Fun Fact 6: You can buy the entire set of Kuji if you do not want to test your luck. I had 2 friends who bought the whole set of Touken Ranbu Ichiban Coffret (Cosmetics) and shared it among themselves! I myself have indeed bought a set once too. This was back when Kujis were not so common in my country and this particular Kuji series was not readily available.
Fun Fact 7: Most Kujis (e.g. Atari (Sanrio); Ichiban (Bandai), Web Kuji) often has a twitter campaign giveaway of the prizes. This is open only to those who can receive deliveries in Japan. There is a work-around for us overseas fans though. Check out my guide: Geeky Goods Spotlight: Forwarder, Buying Service & Proxy Bidding (Anime Goods) to find out how you can get a Japanese Forwarding address.
Fun Fact 8: It’s the 20th anniversary of Ichiban Kuji in 2024!! (OMG, have I been playing Kuji for so long??) In celebration of this anniversary milestone, Bandai has planned a series of campaigns for 2024. Do check out their social media for more information!
Final Thoughts
And there you’ll have it! You’ve reached the end of this guide. ^ ^ Thanks for reading this long post. Hopefully I’ve managed to answer some of your questions and got you excited to play Kujis! There are many more companies and platforms doing Kujis so what I have mentioned here are just a few examples.
Kujis are really a fun way to get a hold of some exclusive and interesting prizes. Just a word of warning: It can be rather addicting and expensive, so do keep an eye on your wallets. Other than that, enjoy playing Kujis! Let me know what some of your favourite prizes are!
There are alot more different Kuji from different companies now and I’ve also tried several of them. Do let me know if I should do a spotlight on those different Kujis as well. Leave a comment below!
Next, if you find my posts and guides useful, it would mean a lot to me if you could let me know and/or what other topics you might like me to cover.
Thanks to those who had reached out via the comments sections, twitter, emails and DMs in my Instagram to let me know your questions and thoughts. I was pleasantly surprised to receive messages from readers all over the world. It’s really encouraging and great motivation to continue with these posts.
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Check out my other Guides and Posts!
I’ve also done up a few guides on purchasing anime goods/figurines and the list will continue to expand. Do check them out as they might be useful for your own fan- collection journeys!
- Geeky Goods Spotlight: Forwarder, Buying Service & Proxy Bidding (Anime Goods)
- Pokemon Cafe
- Nendoroids – A Guide on Buying Nendoroids
- Nendoroid Guide: The Readers’ Questions Edition
- Figuarts Mini VS Nendoroid: A Comparison Guide
- Demon Slayer Gift Guide: Best things to buy for a Kimetsu no Yaiba Fan!
Other Posts that you might be interested in:
wow, this such a fun post to read! I love how dedicated you are to kujis! i first discover kujis back in 2015 and love them ever since 🙂
Hi Tina, Thank you for your comment! It really makes my day when I know someone has enjoyed reading my posts. 🙂 Yes, Kujis are such a fun way to collect merchandises, aren’t they? Thanks again for letting me know your love for kujis too. ^ ^
Hi there, after you tear open the lottery, there is another set of number of the other side of the card which you can keep, what do you with that set of numbers? Thank you
Hi Sharon,
I assume you are talking about the Ichiban Kujis. Those numbers or “codes” are used only when the Kuji set has a Double Chance Campaign where you might stand a chance to win an additional prize (which usually is a figurine). So far, the double chance campaigns are only available in Japan, Singapore and Malaysia. For the Double Chance Campaigns in Singapore/Malaysia, you can head to the Ichiban Kuji Fan Club SG & MY official Facebook Page for more information. As of August 2021, you typically send the codes/numbers to their official Whatsapp account to see if you won the prize. Not all the Ichiban Kujis have a double-chance campaign though.
As for the tickets bought in Japan, they have a different system and you can head to the official webpage for more details on how to enter the campaigns. One thing to note is that you cannot use the tickets you bought in Japan for the Singapore/Malaysia Double Chance and vice-versa.
Hope this helps. 🙂
Hello! Thank you so much for this guide.
I’ve seen people selling prizes after buying the whole set, so I was always curious how people get a full set. Do they just buy it from the local store (instead of 1/more tickets, they get a whole set) or is it sold elsewhere?
Hi! Thank you for reading! ^ ^ As for your question, it depends. Some physical/online stores that sells Kuji (usually outside of Japan) allows customers to buy the whole set or they just buy up all the tickets to get the remaining prizes. Another way is sometimes on the official online Kuji sites of the Japanese companies that produces these Kuji (e.g. Sega, Bandai etc) have an option where they allow users to buy an entire box/set of the Kuji prizes. Hope that helps! 🙂
Hello, your explanation is so fun to read and easy to understand. But I have a question. Do you know how many stores they had? Like if a store has 100 prizes, then it must not that rare anymore. Because there are a hug amount of convenience store in japan. I’m just curious about how rare they are because it said rare but I saw a lot of ppl sell it on webs. I hope you see my question, Thank youuu ♡♡
Hi, Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment and I’m glad you found the article helpful! Technically, if you look at the number of stores that carries/sells Kuji in Japan, it’s not that rare in the sense like Willy Wonka’s golden ticket rarity where there is only a handful of tickets among the possibly millions of chocolate bars sold across the world. However, the rarity comes from the top tier prizes where each kuji-set has only 1 to 3 quantities of and players may not get the prize or design they want. Also, even though many convenience stores in Japan carries Kuji, not every branch do and they don’t sell all types of Kuji as well. Many of the stores that do sell kujis are mainly centered in the larger Japanese cities as well. Hope that helps. 🙂
Hello, may I know what information is needed for online kuji usually?
If I’m staying in hostel for short term exchange and do not have a japanese phone number can I still play online kuji and have them send the prizes to my hostel?
If the above is not possible, then regarding forwarding service, I assume they provide address and phone number which will let me sign up for accounts on various sites to play the kuji then send to the proxy address to consolidate before shipping it back to me right? Do you have a rough estimate of shipping/service prices for reference?
Hi! For online Kujis, you generally need to create an user account with the usual profile details, namely mailing address and contact number. So having a Japanese number is preferred, although at times some kuji sites do let you get away with a non-Japanese mobile number. It all depends on their registration and authentication settings, if any.
With regards to sending the kuji prizes to your hostel (Have fun on your short term exchange!), you need to check the release/delivery date of the kuji prizes. Some online kuji have ready available prizes, which means they can be shortly sent out within a week or so after playing. However, many of the online kuji sites are practicing “pre-order” format, in which the kuji prizes are only sent out 3 to 4 months after the kuji campaign has ended. You need to check if your stay at the hostel covers that duration and always allocate time for any delays in shipping from the Kuji sites.
The alternative method is to engage a forwarding service, as you have considered, using the mailing address and contact number provided by the forwarding service. All forwarding services will give you a mailing address and a generic contact number you can use to register in your profiles. (Do note that some Japanese companies don’t send to forwarding companies but so far in my observations, most have no problem and many of the online kuji sites are fine with it.) I did up a guide on proxy buying and forwarding service here which you can take a look for some of the questions you have. I update the guide quite often so do check it out if you haven’t. Hope this helps!
Hello, thanks a lot for the reply, I ended up purchasing a huge kuji bundle from mercari through buyee for the current my hero academia online kuji since it was cost less than 30 ticket price with 1 of each figure and bunch of small prizes, will be shipping back home directly so I don’t have to worry about luggage space.
I did try to play the online kuji for a bit but hit an issue with people hogging the queue. Can I check if you have experience with it? I tried queuing for one of the boxes with people queuing and supposedly it should dequeue people if they do not purchase tickets for 3 minutes, left my screen on queue screen and the people in queue counter didn’t drop after 1 hour of wait on multiple tries. The other boxes without queue didn’t had the toga figure that I wanted so I skipped those.
Also, this is more with regards to proxy/forwarding service, I noticed my proxy purchase from mercari through buyee stated tenso on my card bill. Does this mean I also have a tenso account somewhere with my buyee sign up that I can use for forwarding? I do not see a forwarding service on buyee page so just curious if I am missing something or I will still have to sign up for a separate forwarding service.
Another thing is that I’m assuming you are from Singapore, I would be interested in a more in-depth review of how you think masadora stacks up against buyee/tenso with regards to proxy and forwarding service quality/fees/consolidation quality (especially mercari since I see quite a bit of kuji bundles and seller covering the shipping usually) I currently can’t browse through a lot of masadora without signing up for an account but I’ll probably be interested if I want to buy more in the future.