Trending Vending Machines in Japan

A solar powered pop machine in Kyoto with the usual drink options

In the steaming summer of Japan you’re covered in sweat, the thick air is getting harder to breath, and all you can think of is how badly you want a cold (insert drink of choice here). But hang in there! For this is Japan, and Japan has a hardy supply of vending machines anywhere imaginable. Outside shrines, inside cemeteries, wedged between two buildings in an otherwise unusable space; wandering down any street in Japan, no matter how desolate or rural, you’re sure to cross one. Let’s face it, it has sort of become a trademark of Japan.

I remember the peak of summer three years ago when I’d be lying on my futon in an un-air-conditioned house. It was impossible to get comfortable so I’d just lie in a sticky heap without the energy to do anything. When the situation became unbearable, I’d finally be drawn out of my house by the incenting thought of a nice cold Pine Cider. I’d stand by the vending machine in our small neighborhood dominated by elderly Japanese women, listening to the semi and staring hopelessly into the thick forest surrounding the area. Who refills all these things?  I’d wonder while my brain melted into a puddle. Then I’d return home to collapse on my futon without giving it another thought.

While looking for inspiration for my blog, I just had to glance around my room. My room is littered with empty bottles. The classic “Evian”, the popular “namacha”, the interesting… “Jabaramaru”? What the heck is this? Yes, the variety in Japanese vending machines fascinates me to no end. When you see grape soda with jelly inside or crème brule latte, how can you resist?

The Japan Vending Machine Manufactures Association says there’s as many as one vending machine for every 23 people, which is pretty incredible, I think. These aren’t all for soda though! Somehow Japan has an amazing market for cell phone straps. It’s not uncommon to see 10 gaudy straps hanging from one itsy-bitsy cell phone, but that’s a different story. There are regular snack vending machines like in America, but also beer, cigarette, and sock vending machines. I even hear they have a vending machine that sells women’s used panties to perverts (or to whomever else in the market for them).

Built for convenience, it’s undeniable that vending machines are becoming an image of advancing Japanese culture. I’ve yet to see one of these elusive vending machine refillers, but  they are true heroes to those of us on the verge of heat-stroke in mid-summer.