Thing of the Day

I found this live goldfish “UFO Catcher” (“Crane game” / “Claw catcher” whatever you want to call it) in an arcade here in Matsuyama.

You catch the fish using slotted plastic scoops attached to what looks like a normal claw. If you get one, the fish drops into a lower collection pool where an attendant scoops it up and puts it in a plastic bag for you to take home.

“UFO Catcher”s (as they’re universally known here) are supremely popular, second only to purikura photo booths in number. In fact, there are businesses that simply contain large numbers of these machines, and seem to be doing fine.