vending machine
Employees go on landmark strike to tackle unpaid overtime, receive overwhelming support from netizens.
You may think you’ve heard and seen it all when it comes to Japan’s vending machines. They dispense panties and hot food, and sometimes they’ll give you a little freebie. But what you still might not know is that these handy beverage-dispensing boxes have been getting quite chatty recently. It’s not uncommon now for your vending machine to attempt to engage you in some chit-chat as you purchase your wares. The one outside my apartment, for example, chats to me each morning about the weather, sometimes in the Kansai dialect, and sometimes even in English. “Vendy” also likes to dispense encouraging soundbites, such as “Do your best again today!” In fact, we’ve become pretty pally.
The talking vending machine technology is apparently customisable, and recent reports have been circulating of a company president who has installed several machines for his coworkers’ use which feature his smiling mugshot and a variety of encouraging dialogue he’s recorded to keep up employee morale!
If you want to relive the childhood excitement of seeing your name on an ink stamp, now’s the time to start planning your trip to Japan! From 2016, you’ll be able to create a personalised stamp with more than just your name – think cute borders, shapes, colours and any type of photo you choose. Plus, you won’t have to send away and wait weeks to see your purchase because it will be dispensed in a minute or less from a high-tech vending machine!
If you’ve been to Japan or just watched Japanese movies and TV, you’re bound to have noticed that they have vending machines coming out the wazoo. Seriously, those things are everywhere! Head out to the deepest inaka (countryside) and you’re still bound to run across a random vending machine nestled in the greenery as though it’s been waiting its whole life just to slake your thirst. But with so many vending machines all over the place, drinks companies have had to get competitive, and reports from Twitter speak of a mythical machine that dispenses two for the price of one canned coffee! But just what sort of wizardry is this?
Much has been said on the subject of the ubiquitous vending machines in Japan. Yes, vending machines seem to be lurking around every street corner here in Japan. And while hot beverages may not be among the most unusual products available from a vending machine, they can certainly offer you great comfort when you’re facing the bitter cold during the winter months.
And it turns out there’s quite a variety of hot drinks out there that you can buy from a machine, as a recent post on Japanese trend and information compilation site Naver Matome shows us. Let’s take a look at their selection of beverage options that may come in extremely handy when you’re caught outside in freezing weather.
If you ever visit Tokyo, the district of Asakusa is a worthwhile spot to wander around in. It has a healthy mix of tradition, entertainment, food, and shopping that should please anyone looking for a small but all-encompassing Japanese experience.
But there’s one other unique feature that Asakusa has and it’s one that’s surprising even the most entrenched Tokyo residents. Apparently, Asakusa is home to an enormous selection of wildly unusual vending machines. And coming from a land positively peppered with automatic vendors, that’s saying a lot.
One cool thing about living in Japan is that, whether you’re in a bustling city or the open countryside, you’re never too far from a vending machine. True, you won’t find any canned ramen in many machines outside of Akihabara, but so long as there’s power to run one, you’re pretty much always within a few hundred metres of a machine selling both chilled and hot drinks.
We’ve seen some unusual things turning up in Japan’s vending machines over the years, but cans of peach juice with money taped to them is definitely a new one.
You might say that the last great life-changing technological achievement was the development of portable devices like smartphones and tablets. However, it’s been a few years now and nothing truly new has come down the pike aside from making other everyday things “smart” like glasses or a watch.
Just in time, we now have a new device that may change the very fabric of society. It’s a vending machine that lifts up the skirt of a Hatsune Miku plush toy. It may not sound important right now, but that’s how these game-changers work. In a few years’ time all of our lives will revolve around this invention, so let’s take a moment to see how it works.
Japan has always had the market cornered on weird vending machines, so it’s going to take a lot to impress the people in a country where you can buy anything from fresh eggs to crepes from a metal box. But this new cupcake vending machine has been turning heads, not for how bizarre it is (by Japan’s standards), but how cute it is.
Sprinkles, the popular cupcake chain in the US, has just opened a “Cupcake ATM” at its New York store, the first of its kind in the area. It opened just 24 hours ago and the lines have been unbelievably long. Let’s take a closer look at the opening day.
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.
Ah, Japan. Land of the world’s best vending machines. It’s hard to go anywhere in the country without finding one, including the summit of Mount Fuji. With over five million scattered around the country, someone should put those hunks of metal to work. Three organizations in Japan are doing just that, teaming up to turn the machines into a lifesaving tool in the event of a disaster, and we aren’t talking about the devices giving out free beverages.
Many of us have heard legends about Japanese vending machines. It’s said that you can get practically anything, not just pop and candy bars, from some of these mechanical beauties. Sadly, much as I hate to be the bearer of bad news, most vending machines in Japan only serve your typical fare of soda, water bottles, tea, and corn soup. I was personally quite disheartened on my first trip overseas when I was unable to find a single novelty vending machine during my entire visit. However, this upcoming fall season, a popular bra company in Japan is inviting women to buy their brand new bra directly from a vending machine.
Convenience stores really have become an integral part of our lives, haven’t they? We think nothing of seeing them on every street corner, and I’m sure we’ve all come to rely on them in times of emergencies (like when you’re in dire need of Häagen-Dazs cookies & cream ice cream at two in the morning). Well, convenience stores may be practically ubiquitous, but we have to say this particular one took us by surprise. It’s certainly not like any convenience store we’ve ever seen!
On a recent trip to the US, one of our Japanese reporters, Yoshio, heard about an unusual vending machine that serves up ice cream. Excited to see how the icy treats would be delivered, our reporter made a beeline for the machine’s nearest location: the local Walmart. We filmed the machine in action and got his take on the automated ice cream experience first-hand.
Ladies and gentlemen, meet Aki-chan. She’s adorable and highly intelligent–a desirable combination in any girl, wouldn’t you say? All right, so maybe she’s a bit on the hairy side, but that’s not really her fault, because … well, she’s not human.
And as you can see from the video we have for you below, while Aki-chan may not be a member of the Homo sapien species, she certainly has a delightful trick up her sleeve (even if she isn’t wearing anything with sleeves)!
Readers of our site may be aware that Japan is home to vending machines that sell a wide range of bizarre and unexpected products, from pornographic magazines to fresh eggs and even fermented soybeans (natto). Now, we’ve found yet another interesting vending machine that’s been featured in a story on Asahi Newspaper’s digital site which we thought would be interesting to share with you.
This machine in particular caught our attention because it combines the Japanese people’s fondness of vending machines with their love of a dish that is extremely popular in Japan. And what might that dish be? We’ll give you a hint — it’s golden brown in color and has a delightfully rich and spicy aroma that’s sure to make your mouth water… Read More
Legend has it that in the urban center of Osaka there sits a vending machine so cheap that it boggles the mind. Here a tasty beverage can be purchased for a measly 10 yen (US$0.11).
RocketNews24 had sent a reporter, Usagi Yumeno, to Fukushima Ward in the port town in search of this machine.
Rumor has it that among the numerous maid cafés, manga, DVD, and video game shops in Akihabara, Tokyo, there exists a unique corner full of vending machines.
The machines contain typical fare for Japan – colas, teas, snacks, condoms, and such – but are guarded by savage penalties unbecoming of the general levels of politeness in this country. In fact, often involving dismemberment, these penalties seem more at home in a bleak post-apocalyptic Thunderdome type society than urban Tokyo.
Few know about this legendary group of vending machines outside of Akihabara aficionados. So our reporter, Kuzo, decided to venture up the electric river of Akihabara in search of the Heart of Vending Machine Darkness.
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