Japan Tourist Spot’s Capsule Toys Made from Recycled Materials Prove Popular with Visitors to Mt. Fuji Viewing Spot

By Toya Wakui / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

7:00 JST, March 5, 2026

Three types of capsule toys, including a key holder depicting Mt. Fuji, are proving popular with visitors to Arakurayama Sengen Park in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi Prefecture.

About 40,000 of the toys, created for visitors to take home as mementos, were sold in the three months since its release.

The toys are made with recycled acrylic panels that were used during the COVID-19 pandemic. A portion of the proceeds from the sales will be used to improve the restroom facilities used by tourists who visit the city, which is proud of the initiative to reduce waste and promote tourism.

The park offers a grand view of a “Chureito” five-story pagoda with Mt. Fuji in the background. Photos taken at the park have become well-known for their social media appeal, turning it into a tourist spot that attracts over a million visitors a year, including foreign tourists.

Visitors can buy the capsules from vending machines and there are three types of toys. Keyholders depicting the pagoda with Mt. Fuji are available for ¥300, while good-luck charm-style accessories are sold for ¥400, and 3D acrylic stands can be bought for ¥500.

The vending machine was installed beside the pagoda last October. The city originally expected annual sales of 15,000 units, but the figure reached 40,000 within the first three months since the machine’s installation. Sales for November and December reached 16,000 units for each month.

The capsule toys are made from acrylic partitions, which were installed to prevent droplet transmission during the pandemic. Aquarium manufacturer Spring Inc., based in Otsuki, Yamanashi Prefecture, was commissioned by the city government and is turning the acrylic panels into commemorative goods.

The company began to consider ways to recycle the partitions once the pandemic had eased and has been exploring possible methods since the use of the partitions began. About 20,000 panels, weighing about 20 tons, have been collected from across Japan through its own recall system and through the post.

The company has experience in processing scrap materials that are produced though the aquarium manufacturing process and turning them into items such as photo frames. They decided to apply this expertise to process the acrylic panels.

For each capsule sold, the company donates ¥100 to the city of Fujiyoshida. The initiative helps to reduce the waste of acrylic sheets and mitigating the impact of the environment while also promoting the company itself though the donations. The municipal government plans to use the donations to tackle measures such as overtourism and pollution.

The area around the park used to be a quiet residential neighborhood, but since it became a popular tourist spot, problems such as traffic congestion and littering have been getting worse. The costs of security guards to control traffic along with maintaining trash bins and restrooms are about ¥100 million a year.

An official of the roads and parks division of the city government said, “[The capsule toys] are environmentally friendly, delight tourists and the benefits are returned to the local community. Because of this, we want to continue this initiative.”

Earrings and rulers

The “upcycling” of acrylic sheets, which creates new, value-added products from those sheets bound for disposal, is gaining momentum across the country.

Tokyo-based Tsukuri Co., which processes and designs acrylic sheeting, utilizes used materials to produce items such as earrings and necklaces. According to the company, colorful acrylic sheets that were previously used for department store displays make it possible to produce a wide range of color tones.

Meanwhile, Nagoya’s city government holds workshops for elementary school children, showing them how to upcycle items familiar to them. For instance, original rulers can be created by drawing scales or illustrations on acrylic sheets that were disposed of by the city hall.