When you step through the red torii gates of the Isekai Japanese Arcade & Gashapon, it’s like entering another world. Which is appropriate, since “isekai” translates to “different world.”
“Have you ever seen ‘Alice in Wonderland’ or ‘Spirited Away’?” Isekai Arcade Co-owner Matthew Gillikin asked. “Those worlds are isekais – you have a normal person from the rather mundane world go into a fantasy world. We wanted to create that here in Boise.”
The arcade (3143 North Cole Road, Boise) is reminiscent of a Japanese night market, stocked with dozens of gashapon (also known as gacha) and claw machines filled with toys and plushies. Gillikin and co-owner Susie Gillikin, his wife, opened the fantastical escape in October 2025.
Capsules of Fun
Gacha toys, which come in plastic capsules for a set number of tokens, can range in design and size.
“The most popular is a Vocaloid, which is a computer-generated singer, a J-pop singer named Hatsune Miku,” Gillikin said. “And we have a lanyard keychain of the character and different versions. I put in orders every six weeks because they just burn through.”
Other bestsellers include figurines from the latest anime hit or Sanrio characters. There’s also miniature server racks, cat litterbox snow globes, and koi man (a muscular, briefs-wearing male figure with a koi’s head).
“We get the really weird stuff because it makes people giggle. It stops people in their tracks and they're like, ‘Oh, I hate that.’ And then they put money in and they get two of them. It's just awesome.”
‘The Rest of My Life’
Getting to the October opening started with a 2023 trip to Japan. The Gillikins bonded in the 90s over all things Japan, including anime. Susie had visited before and had friends through the Japanese exchange college she taught at, but it was Matthew’s first time in the country.
“Within probably an hour, I knew that gacha was going to be the rest of my life,” he said. “I was completely, completely blown off my feet by what I saw. They are everywhere. They are as ubiquitous as anime, as street food, as karaoke, as cosplay.”
Gillikin said he was instantly transported to being a child at the Safeway vending machines, armed with handful of quarters and gleeful anticipation.
“I saw this one gashapon, and it was a fox spirit in samurai armor holding a dagger in his mouth. And all around it was just every other imaginable thing you could think of, ranging from miniature foods to cars to anime characters to miniature gashapon of gashapon that actually worked. I still have that fox. I have so many gashapon, but he's my favorite. You know you're going to get something, but you don't know what. But whatever you do get, you love. And that's just the essence of gashapon.”
Returning from their trip, the Gillikins set out to license a variety of gacha and bring them to the U.S. They started out as Chibi Pop Toys, bringing stacks of gacha machines to Boise’s Gem State Comic Con in 2024.
“We tripled our sales of what we thought we were going to do,” Gillikin said. “It was the Venn overlap of all of our favorite things. We decided pretty early on that we would do a brick and mortar.”
In January 2025, after putting gacha machines at ABU Games and Tea Won Boba & PC Café, the idea of a physical store gained new motivation when Gillikin was laid off.
Perhaps it was kismet, but the newly dubbed Isekai Arcade landed in the same complex as the Capital Asian Market. Working at a furious pace and while still traveling to conventions, the Gillikins crafted their space with a lot of help and with locals in mind.
Building a Community
A first-time visit to the Isekai Arcade will include a free token, a chance to hug the giant Totoro from “My Neighbor Totoro,” opportunities to try your hand at a claw game or pick a gacha, and the Sakura Lounge when you need to rest.
“We are trying to create a space that's safe for cosplayers and fans of anime and teens and young adults and gamers to come and meet and hang out,” Gillikin said. “Whether they spend a dollar or not, it doesn't matter.”
Events have included trinket swaps, anime watch parties, a Godzilla-themed day, and workshops on empowerment through makeup and costuming.
“There's always a lot going on here,” Gillikin said. “Which has always been the goal, to just have events, have this place be for the community.”
And if you’re still not convinced of gacha’s appeal, Gillikin offered this: “We say, ‘We sell joy.’ That's what I want to put in the world for the rest of my life. Just a place where I can do that, where people can come and get a tiny few minutes of joy and giggly goofiness and happiness that makes them remember the wonder of giving a gift or getting a gift as a child.”
For hours and events, visit isekaiarcades.com.