Shopping Guide
HELP / FAQs
By onemall 
If you follow anime figure collectors on social media, you have probably seen someone hold up a boxed prize and shout “I got the A prize!” That is Ichiban Kuji in action — a Japanese prize lottery where every single ticket wins something. No blanks, no bad luck, just a guaranteed prize ranging from a small keychain to a museum-grade figure. It is one of the most addictive ways to collect anime goods in Japan, and thanks to proxy shopping it is now within reach no matter where you live.
Below we break down what Ichiban Kuji means, how the prize tiers work, and exactly how to buy Ichiban Kuji from overseas without paying scalper prices.
What Is Ichiban Kuji? The Meaning Behind the Name
The ichiban kuji meaning is simple once you translate it. In Japanese, ichiban kuji in Japanese is written 一番くじ — “ichiban” (一番) means “number one” or “the best,” and “kuji” (くじ) means “lottery” or “raffle.” So the name literally reads as “the number-one lottery.”[1] It is a registered prize-lottery brand run by Bandai Spirits, the collectible and hobby division of the Bandai Namco group.[2]
The single most important thing to understand about the ichiban kuji lottery is that there are no losing tickets. Unlike a gacha capsule machine where you might get a duplicate you did not want, every Ichiban Kuji ticket is redeemed for a physical prize on the spot.[1] A ticket typically costs somewhere in the range of ¥700 to ¥1,000, and you pull a paper slip that tells you which prize tier you have won. Because the goods are officially licensed and often exclusive to the campaign, they can be surprisingly high quality for a “lottery” prize.
Ichiban Kuji sets are sold in physical locations across Japan — convenience stores like 7-Eleven and Lawson, anime shops, hobby stores, bookstores, and arcades — and each series is produced in a limited quantity. When the tickets for a given box sell out, that set is gone for good, which is a big part of why these prizes hold their value.[1]
How Does Ichiban Kuji Work? The Prize-Tier System
Here is how does Ichiban Kuji work in practice. Each campaign is built around a single anime, game, or character franchise, and the prizes are sorted into lettered tiers, usually running from A down to G or H:
- A Prize: The headline item — typically the largest, most detailed figure in the set. This is what most people are gunning for.
- B, C, D Prizes: Smaller figures, high-quality statues, or premium plush.
- E, F, G Prizes: Everyday goods like acrylic stands, mugs, hand towels, rubber straps, glassware, and art boards. There are usually many of these per box.
Two special mechanics make the system exciting. The first is the Last One Prize (ラストワン賞). Whoever draws the very final ticket in the box automatically receives an exclusive bonus prize on top of their normal tier — often a recolored or special-edition version of the A-prize figure.[1] Because only one Last One prize exists per box, it is one of the most sought-after items and frequently the priciest on the secondary market.
The second is the Double Chance Campaign. Many sets let you keep your ticket stubs and enter them into an online or mail-in draw for an additional limited figure that was never a standard tier prize at all.[2] Combine guaranteed wins, a Last One bonus, and a Double Chance, and you can see why collectors happily buy multiple tickets in a single visit.
Which Franchises and Prizes Are Most Popular?
Ichiban Kuji partners with basically every major anime and gaming property. Long-running favorites include Dragon Ball, One Piece, Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, Naruto, My Hero Academia, Pokémon, and Studio Ghibli, alongside game series like Final Fantasy and Monster Hunter.[2] Dragon Ball figures from the Ichiban Kuji line, in particular, have a reputation for rivaling standalone retail figures in sculpt quality.
Collectors chase these prizes because the figures are officially licensed, many are campaign-exclusive and never sold at retail, and limited supply means desirable A and Last One prizes appreciate over time — popular ones routinely resell well above the original ticket price once a campaign ends.[3]
How to Buy Ichiban Kuji From Overseas or Online
Here is the catch: Ichiban Kuji is designed to be pulled in person at Japanese stores, and Bandai Spirits does not ship prizes internationally. So how to buy Ichiban Kuji from overseas? You have two realistic paths, and both run through a Japan-based proxy service:
- Buy sealed tickets (or a whole “kuji” set) that a Japanese seller has listed, and have a proxy pull and forward the prizes to you.
- Buy the specific secondary-market prize you actually want — usually the smarter move. Instead of gambling on tickets, you target the exact A-prize or Last One figure on a Japanese marketplace like Mercari Japan or Suruga-ya, which are packed with completed Ichiban Kuji prizes.[3][4]
The problem is that Mercari Japan, Suruga-ya, and most Japanese hobby shops only ship domestically and often reject foreign cards. That is where a proxy comes in. If you are new to this, our full walkthrough on buying from Japan and the cheapest way to buy Japanese collectibles online covers the whole process step by step.
With OneMall, the workflow is straightforward. Its Universal Shopping feature lets you buy from virtually any Japanese store or marketplace — Mercari, Suruga-ya, Rakuten, Yahoo Auctions, or a niche hobby shop — just by pasting the product link. OneMall purchases the item in Japan on your behalf, receives it at its warehouse, and forwards it to your country via EMS or DHL.
A few features make OneMall especially handy for Ichiban Kuji hunting:
- Robotic ordering that auto-checks out fast-moving items, which matters when a hot Last One prize gets listed and sells within minutes.
- 90 days of free storage, so you can wait for several prizes from the same campaign to appear before shipping them together.
- Package consolidation that combines multiple orders into one box, typically cutting international shipping by 30–50%.
- Product inspection before shipping, so you know a figure arrived complete and undamaged.
- Transparent, low service fees — as low as ¥200 per order, never inflated scalper markups.
You can start by browsing what is available right now with a search for Ichiban Kuji prizes on OneMall, or narrow it down to figures with a search for Ichiban Kuji figures.
Conclusion
Ichiban Kuji is one of the most rewarding corners of Japanese collecting precisely because you cannot lose — every ticket is a win, the top prizes are genuinely stunning, and the Last One and Double Chance mechanics keep the hunt exciting. Living outside Japan no longer means missing out. By pairing Japanese marketplaces like Mercari and Suruga-ya with a proxy such as OneMall — with its Universal Shopping, robotic ordering, 90 days of free storage, and package consolidation — you can land the exact A-prize or Last One figure you have been eyeing and have it delivered to your door.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Ichiban Kuji mean?
Ichiban Kuji (一番くじ) is Japanese for “the number-one lottery.” It is a prize-lottery brand from Bandai Spirits in which every ticket wins a physical prize, from small goods up to premium anime figures — there are no losing tickets.
How does the Ichiban Kuji lottery work?
You buy a ticket (usually about ¥700–¥1,000) at a Japanese store and pull a slip revealing your prize tier, labeled A through G or H. A prizes are the biggest figures; lower tiers are smaller figures and everyday goods. The person who pulls the final ticket also gets the exclusive Last One prize.
What is the Last One prize?
The Last One prize is a special bonus item awarded to whoever draws the very last ticket in a box. Only one exists per set, it is often a special-edition version of the top figure, and it is usually one of the most valuable items on the resale market.
Can I buy Ichiban Kuji outside Japan?
Bandai Spirits does not sell or ship Ichiban Kuji internationally, but you can still get the prizes. The easiest way is to buy the specific prize you want from a Japanese marketplace like Mercari Japan or Suruga-ya and use a proxy service such as OneMall to purchase it and forward it to your country.
Is it cheaper to buy tickets or the finished prize?
If you only want one specific figure, buying that finished prize on the secondary market is usually cheaper and lower-risk than buying many tickets and hoping to pull it. Using OneMall’s package consolidation to combine several prizes into one shipment can further cut your international shipping costs by roughly 30–50%.
References
- Ichiban Kuji Official Site (Bandai Spirits) — https://ichiban-kuji.com/
- Bandai Spirits Co., Ltd. Corporate Site — https://bandai-spirits.co.jp/
- Mercari Japan Marketplace — https://jp.mercari.com/
- Suruga-ya Online Store — https://www.suruga-ya.jp/
- Bandai Namco Holdings — https://www.bandainamco.co.jp/
- Japan Post — International Mail (EMS) — https://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/ems/index_en.html