Osaka live venue GORILLA HALL OSAKA has gone viral on X after attempting to purchase a gorilla-shaped sofa for the venue, only for the ¥1.38 million item to be marked as “delivered” despite never arriving. The venue’s posts have since drawn millions of views, as fans followed every update of what became the least rock’n’roll delivery dispute of the year.
The saga began on December 8th, when Akirakani Akira (bass) of THE ORAL CIGARETTES shared an Amazon listing for a “Luxury Gorilla Sofa 230CM Fits 2 People”. GORILLA HALL OSAKA quote-posted it and committed to the purchase, writing: “If Gorilla Hall doesn’t buy it, who will?”. The order total came to ¥1,380,000 (around £6,600 / $8,800), with delivery initially scheduled for December 13th.
このゴリラソファ欲しいなあhttps://t.co/zJzzJK1X0n pic.twitter.com/ACGNXriiK1
— あきらかにあきら (@akyakyakya) December 8, 2025
A by-product of the generative AI boom, hyper-realistic animal sofas have spread across online marketplaces, frequently appearing in dubious listings that reuse the same AI-generated images with few verifiable details.
As the delivery date approached, the venue posted updates asking followers where to place the sofa inside the building. On the morning of December 14th, GORILLA HALL OSAKA confirmed that it had not arrived. In an apology posted to X, which drew over three million views, the venue said it believed the listing was “most likely a scam”, but stressed that it was more disappointed to have let people down than anything else. It also admitted that the warning signs came too late, realising only after the purchase that “the cleaning robot wouldn’t even fit underneath it”.
結論から申し上げますと、ゴリラソファーは届きませんでした。おそらく詐欺だったのだと思います。
騙された悔しさもありますが、それ以上に、楽しみにしてくださっていた皆さんの期待に応えられなかったことが本当に申し訳ありません。心よりお詫びいたします🙇♀️… pic.twitter.com/T5m9G0gybS
— GORILLA HALL OSAKA (@GorillaHall_osk) December 14, 2025
The tracking information shared by the venue only added to the confusion. Records showed that Japan Post Click Post, a service intended for small parcels, handled the shipment and marked it as delivered in Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto, rather than Suminoe Ward in Osaka where the venue is located. Online, users quickly pointed out that a 230cm sofa could not possibly arrive via mailbox drop.
In a post on December 17th, GORILLA HALL OSAKA said Amazon Customer Service had completed the refund. The venue also disclosed it received a phone call from someone claiming to be the seller, insisting it was not a scam and the sofa would arrive in a month. However, GORILLA HALL listed multiple inconsistencies, including the Kyoto delivery mark, a lack of explanation for the “delivered” status, photos that differed from the listing, and unreliable contact details. Amazon reportedly acknowledged that Click Post could not ship a product of this size and processed the refund.
With the refund complete, GORILLA HALL OSAKA said it would not definitively label the incident as fraud and retracted that claim. Still, it also admitted the attention has left them with only one real option: “we absolutely must place a gorilla sofa in Gorilla Hall”. The venue says it is now in direct contact with a manufacturer, with a gorilla sofa expected to arrive in the near future, adding: “We sincerely apologise for causing a disturbance over an issue like this, rather than about live performances, at a live music venue”.
About GORILLA HALL OSAKA
GORILLA HALL OSAKA is a live music venue in Suminoe Ward, Osaka, which opened in January 2023. The venue name was coined by Shuhei Igari of HEY-SMITH. Its third anniversary show takes place on January 30th, featuring HEY-SMITH, MAN WITH A MISSION, and THE ORAL CIGARETTES.
AloJapan.com