Do you feel thirsty? Don’t worry. Vending machines are standing everywhere.
Vending machine or jidohanbaiki can be found in every corner of Japan. It is said that the first vending machine was found back in 1888 in Yamaguchi Prefecture. Since it became popular in the late 1950s, the number of vending machines has increased tremendously in Japan. The majority of vending machines sell non-alcoholic drink beverages. But nowadays, there are zillions of unique vending machines, such as Dashi (broth), umbrella, rice, ice cream, cookies, egg, fruits, Ramen, panties, and many more.
There are two uncommon products in it, corn soup and Shiruko (Japanese traditional dessert, sweet porridge of Azuki beans)
To buy from the vending machine, you’ll need to prepare 10, 50, 100, 500 yen coins and 1,000 yen bills. And another method of payment is with IC cards like Icoca and Suica, but make sure you find the E-money sign on the machine.
Japanese yen (top: 1000 yen bill, from left: 500, 100, 50, 10 yen coin)
Vending machine is very easy to use, just insert your money, choose your item by pushing the button under the product you want. If you’ve done it but nothing comes down, then maybe you’ll need to push the button extra hard. If you want to pay with IC cards, it’s in reverse order, first choose the product you wish to buy, then scan your card over the card reader.
Vending machine in Japan is a lot of fun, I always feel excited when I find the one with uncommon products. You can actually add a vending machine hunting on your to-do list, it’s exciting and you get to taste beverages you can only find in Japan.