UFO Catcher in the Rye

Hi everyone.  We have some posts coming about our recent happenings on the way, but right now I have a confession to make.

I am addicted to UFO Catchers.

Yes, Japanese claw machines.  You might remember a post I made about Stripey-kun, the big ol' rabbit pillow I won.  And you might recall the one about Pyon-Pyon the hopping bunny ball.  But since then I think I've developed a problem.  Every other day during my lunch break, I walk over to the local arcade and try my hand at the UFO Catchers.  This is not to say that the tries are always successful.  There are some days when I walk away with nothing but 500 less yen in my pocket.  But other days I am unstoppable.  A golden god.  A force to be reckoned with.  A terrifying stuffed animal winning machine.

It's pretty bad.  I even got my co-worker Jeremy hooked UFO Catchers too.  A few weeks ago we went to Round 1 (the arcade/bowling alley/karaoke/golf/baseball entertainment Thunderdome we posted about awhile back) with the sole intention of winning toys.  Several hours and a good chunk of money later, this was the result:

ONLY GLORY

Yeah, altogether we won like 15 things.  It was insane.  The whole time we were discussing strategies for the machines.  Use the claw to push, not to lift!  Rotate the ring to make it fall off the hook!  STROKE IT FIRST!  And every time we won something it was a celebration.  After I won that giant pink llama (excuse me, ALPACA) we were so darn happy Jeremy gave me a bear hug and picked me up.  We are 24-year-old men.

Here are some of my other glorious prizes:

All my Pokemon dolls.  These baskets used to be for fruit.

As an aside, they got rid of the machine that had these guys in it.  Jeremy and I suspect it was because between the two of us we cleaned 'em out every day.

My big game trophies.  Use the cellphone for a sense of scale.

(help me)

It should be noted that the toys in UFO Catchers are WAY better quality than the stuff in claw machines back home.  They're all really durable and made of good materials.  Additionally, you can ONLY get them from UFO Catchers - they aren't sold in stores. 

... okay, I know, I'm trying to justify my addiction here.  It's only a matter of time before winning a Pikachu doll is the only thing that'll get me to "normal."  Already I'm getting withdrawls.  And I haven't played a UFO Catcher since... yesterday.

It might be a waste of money and kind of a silly addiction.  But let me put it this way: did drugs ever win you a giant pink alpaca?