vending machines (Page 11)
It might sound like a strange coupling, but there’s actually a valid reason for this six-part collection!
The “Brilliant Capsule” sales area in Shinjuku is filled with plenty of adorable and ladylike anime goods!
Stored at temperatures below freezing, the drink magically turns to ice inside the bottle after opening.
Move over water bottle panties, it’s time to dress up your drinks with a fashionable over-the-shoulder sweater that takes its styling cues from Beat Takeshi.
Japanese vending machines always get lavished with attention but now it’s time for their trash cans to step into the spotlight.
Have you ever looked at a vending machine in Japan and had no idea what the strange, kanji-labelled drinks were? Now there’s a new interactive service that will explain everything for you!
One of the many things we love about Japan is its impressive variety of vending machines. We’ve seen everything from orange juice that looks like soy sauce to cans of hot, clam-packed miso soup make its way to the hands of customers through the wonders of mechanised distribution.
Recently, we stumbled on a machine we’d never seen before, and one that’s unique even by Japanese standards. Meet the persimmon vending box that delights customers on Sado Island with a rare variety of fruit that’s only grown locally, away from mainland Japan.
In the case of a cardiac arrest, every second counts, which is why over the past decade Japanese health organizations have deployed a large number of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in public areas, with the current count somewhere over 300,000 units.
Eventually the country would like to see that number expand to one in every building, but for the time being the first priority is AED accessibility, leaving some foreign tourists surprised to find that AEDs in places that might seem a little odd at first: like vending machines.
Japanese vending machines are a great example of the culture of convenience so prevalent in Japan. Whether you’re after orange juice that looks like soy sauce, or a hot, clam-packed miso soup to cure your hangover, if you want something fast, the nation’s vending machines will be there for you, come rain or shine.
Now one of the country’s largest drinks manufacturers, DyDo, is catering to customers who actually do find themselves caught out in the rain, with a free “rental umbrella” service attached to a number of their machines in Nishi Ward, Osaka.
One of the most wonderful things about a Japanese winter is the abundance of hot drinks that become available at convenience stores and vending machines on street corners. There’s nothing quite like popping a coin into a machine on a freezing cold night or while making your way to work, only to have a piping hot can delivered into your frozen palms; it’s an experience that’s almost as satisfying as actually drinking the hot beverage and warming yourself from the inside out!
Stumbling across a good hot soup other than corn potage when scouring the drinks display is always a rare bonus and now that’s something we can look forward to, especially after a night of drinking, with the new canned miso soup from Nagatanien. Filled with the power of ornithine, an amino acid abundant in clams, this is a traditional hangover remedy from Japan, now packed in a can!
While Japan is known for its large number of vending machines, offering everything from ink stamps to gold cans of Coca-Cola, there’s a very special type of vending machine that can be stacked three high and in long rows of twenty or more: the gachapon machine.
Often forming a huge wall outside gaming stores, these plastic-windowed devices spit out mystery capsules with tiny collectibles inside at 100-600 yen (US$0.84-$5.02) a pop. The latest gachapon to appear on the market is aimed at the feline customer, and if kittens could master the art of coin handling, they’d all be down at the vending machines, getting in on the craze that all cool cats are into – cat bandanas.
One thing foreign visitors to Japan immediately notice is the ubiquitous vending machines. Particularly in big cities, you can’t swing a tanuki without hitting a machine selling something. Mostly it’s soft drinks, but there are also vending machines for beer, cigarettes, hamburgers, used panties, weird toys, curry, fresh eggs, and pretty much anything under the sun. Now you can even get a good deed done with your canned coffee purchase at this vending machine accepting charitable donations.
You might think there’s no reason to fly to Fukuoka. After all, the Shinkansen line now stretches all the way to the biggest city on the island of Kyushu, and those spiffy new first-class long-haul bus seats are about ready to make their debut. Why bother taking to the skies when you’ve got two perfectly good terrestrial travel options?
Simple: so you can get a crepe from a vending machine at Fukuoka Airport.
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