Featured

will it vend

The Perfect Vending Machine – for when you gotta have those fresh cut apples

The Perfect Vending Machine – for when you gotta have those fresh cut apples

Ever had the irresistible urge to have fresh apples while you’re outdoors? Well, if you ever have such an urge when you’re at the Kasumigaseki subway station or the Suidobashi subway station in Tokyo, you don’t need to wait to satisfy your urge. You can get some fresh cut apples right at the station – from a vending machine!

Read More

Coca-Cola “Interactive Happiness Machine” Comes to Tokyo, But Where’s the Free Sandwiches?

Coca-Cola “Interactive Happiness Machine” Comes to Tokyo, But Where’s the Free Sandwiches?

In 2010, Coca-Cola pulled off perhaps the most amazing viral marketing stunt ever when they “rigged” a vending machine in the common room of St. John’s University in New York to literally hand out goodies like flowers, pizza and even a six-foot sub to students as they reached down for their coke.

Since then, a number of “Coca-Cola Happiness Machines” have come and gone around the world, but we here in Japan are still waiting our turn for a happiness free-for-all (you think we’d have had several buy now, given all the vending machines in this country).

It seems that time has finally come: Coca-Cola Japan unveiled its brand new “Interactive Happiness Machine” on Tuesday, the first of which is currently on display at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport International Terminal 1.

Yet while this vending machine shares the same name, we’re not quite sure it’s dispensing the same kind of happiness the viral videos had led us to hope for.

Read More

Fine Wining? Not exactly, but at $12,195 a bottle, it’s definitely fine drinking

  • Mar 23, 2012 by
  • Comments0

Fine Wining? Not exactly, but at $12,195 a bottle, it’s definitely fine drinking

Suntory Liquors Limited is now selling the ultimate luxury drink – a million yen($12,195) bottle of whiskey. How can a bottle of whiskey cost a million yen? Well, in this case you put 35-year old Hibiki whiskey in a porcelain bottle crafted by a national living treasure and you get a million dollar drink. Read More

Japanese Egg Vending Machine Vends Eggs

Japanese Egg Vending Machine Vends Eggs

Japanese economic theory states that when the supply of a good fails to meet demand due to inadequate distribution infrastructure, that deficiency will be compensated for with a vending machine.

This can be seen in practice in areas of rural Japan where there may not be 24-hour convenience stores on every block like in larger towns and cities.

For example, your reporter is from a small town in Shimane prefecture known as Higashiizumo (or at least it was known as that until it was dissolved in a merger with Matsue city last year). Here, there is an egg vending machine that has been lovingly used by the locals since time immemorial.

Read More

Japan Tobacco Unveils 1000 Yen Pack of Smokes

Japan Tobacco Unveils 1000 Yen Pack of Smokes

Japan Tobacco Inc. (JT) has announced that it will begin selling a premium brand of cigarettes for smokers who enjoy a rich aroma. The brand, called “The Peace”, will begin a gradual country-wide roll-out on February first.
Read More

Will It Vend? American Vending Machine Sells iPad & Other High-Tech Toys, We Question Americans’ Buying Habits

Will It Vend? American Vending Machine Sells iPad & Other High-Tech Toys, We Question Americans’ Buying Habits

And we thought Japan was setting the vending machine standards. Perhaps this is old news to some of our English-speaking viewers, but we were shocked when we stumbled upon a giant vending machine stocked with iPads, PSPgos, and other expensive gadgets on a recent outing to Los Angeles. Read More

Will It Vend? Akihabara’s Mystery Vending Machine Is Beverage Gachapon

Will It Vend? Akihabara’s Mystery Vending Machine Is Beverage Gachapon

When you’re thirsty you can always rely on the vending machine to be there waiting for you with a selection of chilled beverages. With the summer sun beating down upon us day after day, we find ourselves seeing out the vending machine’s oasis even more.

However, we recently came across one vending machine in Akihabara, Tokyo that we were slightly reluctant to exchange our silver with: several of the drink selections were covered with a label reading “???” Read More

Will It Vend? Step Aside, Baristas! Vending Machine Grinds Beans And Makes Drink For You

During a recent stop at the Fujigawa Service Area in Shizuoka I came across a peculiar vending machine. Written conspicuously on the sign above it were the words: “World first! Coffee grinding viewing! Grinds beans for each cup!”

That’s right: this vending machine grinds beans and makes your drink for you on the spot!

Read More

Will It Vend? Crepe Vending Machine Spotted In Fukuoka Airport

Normally, when one has a craving for crêpe they head to their local crêperie to have one made fresh, or drop by the convenience store to pick one up on the go. If you’re a bird of prey, you may even resort to criminal methods.

Now, thanks to that good old Japanese let’s-put-anything-in-a-vending-machine ingenuity, you can feed your appetite for French pastries with just the push of a button. Read More