“What Is in the Box?” is an approximate English label for a clip featuring contestants who reach into an opaque box and try to identify what they feel. The surprises reportedly range from living creatures to a harmless stuffed toy. The available accounts do not verify it as the official title of a Japanese TV series or identify the original program.
How the clip’s game works
Contestants put a hand into an opaque box and guess its contents by touch, without first seeing what is inside. That simple setup makes uncertainty the point: a contestant has to interpret an unfamiliar sensation before knowing whether it came from an animal, an object, or something else.
What contestants reportedly find
A 2015 BGR article by Brad Reed describes a frog, gigantic maggots, and an octopus among the box’s contents. It also recounts a contestant reacting with fear to a stuffed puppy, apparently expecting something more alarming. A 2021 AsiaHub roundup describes similar touch-and-guess games involving insects, fruit, animals, and plush toys. BGR’s 2015 account and AsiaHub’s 2021 roundup offer descriptions, not a complete inventory of one verified episode.
Is “What Is in the Box?” the show’s official name?
Not on the evidence available. Reed says the clip’s title roughly translates as “What is in the Box?” That supports using the phrase as an English label for the clip, but it does not establish an official English title or the name of a standalone Japanese series. A Dailymotion user listing titled “[Japanese gameshow] What is in the box Octopus,Toad” shows that a repost circulated under that description; it does not identify the original show or confirm official distribution. The Dailymotion listing is user-uploaded.
Recommended Free Tools
#1 Best Overall
- Immersive Travel Experiene: Players are travelers competing to plan and experience the most personally fulfilling dream vacation in Tokyo and Kyoto.
- Choose your Activities: Over 100 illustrated cards, players strategically place activities to create their week-long itinerary.
- Competitive or Solo Play: Whether competing against friends or playing solo, players earn victory points by successfully navigating cities, making the most out of favorite activities, and fulfilling personal goals.
- Experience the Trip of a Lifetime from the comfort of your Home: Enjoy the local Japanese flavor from your own environment. Great for a game night or to give you ideas for your next in person trip to Japan!
- Beautiful Artwork: The vivid images and paintings represent real life locations and create a truly engaging game session. Perfect for gifting to friends and family!
What is known about the original program and where to watch
The accounts cited here do not identify the original Japanese program, its broadcaster, or when it was produced. They also do not establish a current authorized viewing source, licensing, or regional availability. A repost or a video described in a retrospective article is not proof that an official version is currently available.
Why the clip is memorable
The format turns a familiar guessing game into a suspenseful one: contestants must decide what they are touching while unable to see it. Reports of both animals and ordinary toys make the contents uncertain, and the stuffed puppy anecdote shows how anticipation can make even a harmless object startling. That explains the clip’s appeal without treating one segment as representative of Japanese television or its viewers.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- WHO'S IN CONTROL? - Not many board games kids and adults both love will ask deep questions like: Do we control our own actions? Or are they influenced by other forces? "Insider" will make you think.
- WHO IS THE INSIDER? - This funny card games aim is to expose the mysterious insider, who knows the quiz answer and is attempting to control the scenario. Beat the timer, find the answer, and manipulate the discussion to win!
- PLAY ANYWHERE - Better than playing cards or old fashioned family board games, 9 to 99 years olds love "Insider". Best for travel games, drinking games, kids board games, or games for adults.
- WONDERFUL GIFT - Our board and card games are top fun for both family and friends. Ideal Christmas games or Birthday gifts. Lots of content with minimal packaging makes them perfect on-the-go as a travel or party game.
- FUN. NEW. INTERESTING. - Oink Games develops enchanting adult & kids games. Party games, family games, board games, etc - there's many ways to play! Cool designs, fresh game ideas from Japan, efficient space-saving packaging. Let's Play!
Rank #4
- BUILD THE POWER GRID BEFORE THE CATS WRECK IT - stack wooden Denchuu poles across a Japanese island and weave the cables between them without letting a single line touch. Every piece you add raises the tension.
- PLAY IT SOLO, TEAM UP, OR COMPETE - a real one-player challenge when you want to test your steady hand, a cooperative build with the family, or a 2 to 5 player party standoff where nobody wants to be the one who knocks it down.
- 15 MINUTES, AGES 8 AND UP - nothing to assemble and no long rulebook to get through: open the box and start stacking. Your steady hand decides the round, so a kid and an adult meet on level ground. English rules included.
- 80 REAL WOOD AND CARDBOARD PIECES - 21 Denchuu poles, 28 cubes, 7 cat silhouettes, 20 nest tokens and a gameboard, all counted in the rules and all packing back into one square box between games.
- THE GIFT FOR SOMEONE WHO SAYS THEY DON'T PLAY BOARD GAMES - cat lovers, teens, a coworker you drew for the office exchange: everyone gets it in 30 seconds. Ships Prime. Add the Nekojima: Torii Expansion Pack to make it a bigger gift.
Rank #3
- Upgrade your adventure to first class with the deluxe edition featuring bigger wood tokens, an expanded game board, and make setup and clean up a breeze with a box organizer.
- Hanami is a 30-45 min strategy board game from the creators of Parks. It features quick, snappy turns of area control as you vie for the best spots in Japan.
- Hanami is a reimagining of Reiner Knizia's classic, Samurai, a beloved tile-laying game from 1998. We fell in love with this game way back when and are thrilled to revisit this world in a new way.
- New Theme - As much as we love Samurai, we want to celebrate different aspects of Japan that focuses on simplicity, beauty, and tension. Hanami rose to the top of our list as it celebrates fleeting beauty in nature, has strong ties to Samurai culture, and remains a significant part of the culture today.
- New Map - You will be able to enjoy all the gameplay of classic Samurai on the Nihon side of the map, but we have also added a map of Tokyo that you can enjoy on the back side the board. On the Tokyo side, players can enjoy new actions on tiles that offer different strategies and ways to play. Players will also receive different one-time-use Special Ability Cards to mix up the game in surprising new ways.
Rank #2
- Classic Strategy: A perfect set for the strategy board game enthusiast; Shogi is one of the most interesting chess variants and this beautiful set comes with everything you need to play
- Wood Table Style Board: An elegant and practical Japanese Chess Set for the professional and beginner alike; Made with wood veneer on MDF, this board measures 10.6 x 9.8 x 1.8 inches (27 x 25 x 5 centimeters ) and comes with convenient drawers to store the Shogi playing pieces
- Maple Wood Playing Pieces: Traditional Koma playing pieces feature kanji characters in painted running hand script font (Bantarou-goma) using Genpai-goma style with a black character on the head and a red character on the tail
- Ready To Play: Full English illustrated instruction manual included
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.
