When I first moved to Japan, one of first things I did was make a short video to send back home. I entitled it “Never-ending Vending”.  It was about vending machines. Yes, vending machines. An article at Wired Magazine’s blog reminded me of that video. So I though for my first post at our new blogging home, I would write about the Japanese love of Vending machines. 

The first thing anyone notices when they go to Japan is probably not what you might think. Not the high tech gizmos or the blade runner like city streets.  Not the inordinate number of lovely fit ladies, or the fact that a lot of Japanese cars (kei-cars) could quite possibly fit in the back of the average American SUV.  No, I think the one thing that strikes most people is the inordinate number of vending machines. 

 It is safe to say that in any given city in Japan that that city has one or more vending machines on literally every block, and quite possibly every corner. Even the more remote suburbs have vending machines on most streets.  

 This led to the hilarious development of the Vending Machine dress disguise. Dane and I talked about it on a previous Anime Pacific episode. It is a dress that can quickly fold up into a fake vending machine (to hide from a would-be molester one can only assume). See if you can spot the fake one in this picture.

 I lived for a few months in a sort of shed (or small cabin) in the back yard of my wife’s (then girl-friends) family. That wasn’t so bad since I had a roof over my head rent free, and across the street from my wife’s parent’s house were two vending machines. And down the street a hundred feet or so were two more. Keep in mind that this was in a Japanese suburb. There were so many, that in my “never-ending vending” video, I walked a good mile or so just walking from vending machine to vending machine. 

Since this was a residential neighbourhood, besides the occasional dog walker, it’s not like there was a lot of foot traffic. I had to have been the best customer for the vending machines across the street. Frankly, I don’t know how they stayed in business. But I have to say, you never have to worry about finding a place to quench your thirst in Japan. At any time, all you have to do is stop look around, and there is bound to be a vending machine in your sightline. 

The only thing more surprising then the sheer number of vending machines is the huge variety. For example, the video I shot, in my somewhat rural suburb of Handa-shi, had a vending machine that sold pornographic videos and one that sold bags of rice!

I have to see if I can dig up that “never-ending vending” video. I think I mailed a copy to Dane. Perhaps he still has it. And I should have some photos somewhere of them too. Ill try to dig them up.

In the meantime, make sure you check out the post at the wired blog about the world’s weirdest vending machines (staring Japan for the most part, not surprisingly). 

Wired vending machine blog post 

Alex