This is a small aside to my ramblings about places we visited while touring Japan, and more focused on one of my favorite aspects of Japan that probably seems silly to most people: vending machines. I’m including Gashapon machines in this category of delight, as they show up a lot more frequently in Japan than in the States.
Boss Coffee vending machines = Hornsby Approved.
Vending machines with edible and drinkable items are very frequent throughout Japan. Our guide informed us that residents can even rent portions of their property out to the vending machine companies and get paid a commission on the income from the machines, which makes me feel better after seeing how often sets of vending machines would be stuck in front of someone’s house.
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- This was the most decorated vending machine we saw.
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- This vending machine was specific to the Hanoke area with charms decorated based on the area attractions.
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- These dogs loved to be stuffed in baked products, apparently.
When I went to Tokyo for two weeks on an off-campus trip for college, I learned that Boss Coffee is the best and most easily accessible pick-me-up to be found while in Japan and this trip was no different. Boss Coffee was an option 95% of the time, including the option for hot coffee.Along with the option for hot versions of canned beverages, or hot beverages poured into disposable open cups, another more frequent vending machine delight were the machines with ice cream. Wee containers of Haagen-daz, crispy wafer green tea with chocolate ice cream sandwiches, and a mysterious wonder James sampled known as ‘Coolish’.
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- The hypnotizing glow of vending machines. To the right, one that will vend you some beer.
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- Coolish! It’s cool…ish!
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- Vending machine Haagen-Daz, a specific one that is delicious and probably not going to show up where I live. 🙁
Not only that, but there are vending machines for beer, which I guess means that Japanese folks trust the underaged with cash to not buy it. But maybe placing a beer vending machine next to ice cream means kids would choose to spend their money on ice cream instead of alcohol? (Hey, it worked on us)
When it comes to running into Gashapon vending machines, it’s hard for me to say no when I see something funny or one of my favorite characters in it. There are some odd toys dispensed on occasion – the weirdest this time was probably the ‘tables and chairs’ set.
Yes, this one will give you a toy folding chair or table. But they actually fold?!?
We left with quite the haul, in part because there was an area at a mall near our last hotel where there were around 25 machines, most of which had really rad capsule toys. If there’s a toy that’s hard to find, you can usually find it in a shop around Akiharbara, which may or may not be cheaper than leaving it up to chance of getting all the toys you want from the machine.
A large portion were charm-based, but there is a stamper Pokeball back there.