Japan is famous for “crazy” vending machines that are fabled to encase bizarre products and inappropriate wares. But for the most part, Japanese vending machines just spit out cans of cold or hot beverages, and sometimes soup. But this particular one found on a rarely traveled road in Tokyo could be a first as it seems to contain a giant beetle for sale.
It all started when Twitter user, Tomoya, was taking a stroll down an unfamiliar street in the Adachi ward of Tokyo. She soon came across a peculiar, yet nostalgic vending machine. No, not one filled with delightful soft drinks of years gone by; this one was filled with erotic books.
Right next to it was yet another strange vending machine filled not with dirty magazines, but a large stag beetle, or kuwagata-mushi in Japanese.
The bug sits right next to a can of milk tea and grape soda as if it belongs there. To the far right is a can of yakitori chicken for 450 yen (US$4.37), getting closer to the realm of insects, but not quite. The beetle appears to be priced at 630 yen ($6.12) and includes a note that it’s kept at room temperature even though the insect appears in a red row that denotes hot vended beverages. The sight of this giant beetle inside of a grungy vending machine on a forgotten road intrigued Tomoya, and she tweeted that the next time she came by this particular road, she would buy a stag beetle.
She later tweeted that everything inside the vending machine turned out to be at room temperature, even the grape soda. She also noticed that Kit Kats were sold in the vending machine and hypothesized that maybe the beetle was actually made of chocolate. Unfortunately, Tomoya never reveals whether or not the stag beetle is alive inside the forgotten lukewarm vending machine. So readers, it’s up to you! The next time you stroll down a less traveled street in Tokyo, keep your eyes peeled. You never know what you might encounter in an old worn out vending machine. And if you come by this particular one, free one of those stag beetles and tell us if it’s made of chocolate!
Rare living male-female stag beetle is currently housed in Miyazaki prefectural museum
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