My last visit to Tokyo was short: one shopping mall! On the lowest level, I was stopped cold by the array of vending machines. Of course, there were several animals figurine machines. The two my friends at home loved, though, were those vending freshly grilled steak next to chilled jars of caviar. If there had been some grilled veggies in the next vending machine, I could have gone for a fancy picnic in the nearby park!
I have a photo of the machines, but I'm not sure how to post it here. I loitering around, waiting to see if anyone would buy one, but evidently steak wasn't on the menu on such a hot day.
I just went to the Oktoberfest in Yokohama and they sold wrist bands by vending machines, but it wasn’t very automated – you put your money in the machine as directed by a young woman standing there, and the machine produced a ticket which you then handed to her and she gave you the wrist bands. I guess sit just to avoid handling the money, as is done with ramen shops that you buy your meal ticket from a machine by the door.
Thanks for sharing this! Really interesting, and I should have included something on these sorts of machines in the piece. It can feel a bit laborious can't it, having to get a ticket when you could just deal directly with the person standing right in front of you. But as you say, there are reasons why.
It might also be that I'm getting old - I don't like the shift that seems to be going on towards ordering in UK restaurants using a QR code on the table. 😂
This essay was a great eye opener. I always assumed that a lot of Japanese technology, including vending machines dated from the 1970s and 1980s simply because these were the boom years in the Japanese economy which came abruptly to a halt with the crash of 1991. I also assumed that the Japanese continued to use vending machines and other dated technology, such as fax machines, as they missed out on the digital revolution of the 1990s and 2000s. However, you have provided very clear cultural reasons for the continued proliferation of vending machines. As for customers complaining, one only need to read the hilariously picky comments on Amazon.co.jp. It is also well known that the most stars that any Japanese consumer will give a restaurant is 3 out of 5. Such a score should not discourage visitors from trying them out!
Thanks for this! I'll definitely be having a look at some Amazon comments now. No doubt someone out there is doing a sociology PhD on the culture of customer commentary at Japanese Amazon...!
My last visit to Tokyo was short: one shopping mall! On the lowest level, I was stopped cold by the array of vending machines. Of course, there were several animals figurine machines. The two my friends at home loved, though, were those vending freshly grilled steak next to chilled jars of caviar. If there had been some grilled veggies in the next vending machine, I could have gone for a fancy picnic in the nearby park!
Freshly grilled steak from a vending machine? That's amazing! I'd love to see that (and then eat it, of course...!).
I have a photo of the machines, but I'm not sure how to post it here. I loitering around, waiting to see if anyone would buy one, but evidently steak wasn't on the menu on such a hot day.
Hi Pam, if you don't mind sending it to hello@chrishardingjapan.com, please, I'll upload it to this page. I'm sure people would love to see it!
I just went to the Oktoberfest in Yokohama and they sold wrist bands by vending machines, but it wasn’t very automated – you put your money in the machine as directed by a young woman standing there, and the machine produced a ticket which you then handed to her and she gave you the wrist bands. I guess sit just to avoid handling the money, as is done with ramen shops that you buy your meal ticket from a machine by the door.
Thanks for sharing this! Really interesting, and I should have included something on these sorts of machines in the piece. It can feel a bit laborious can't it, having to get a ticket when you could just deal directly with the person standing right in front of you. But as you say, there are reasons why.
It might also be that I'm getting old - I don't like the shift that seems to be going on towards ordering in UK restaurants using a QR code on the table. 😂
Near Bentenjima Station in Shizuoka I found a machine selling cans of worms for fishing.
Love it! Thanks for sharing…!
This essay was a great eye opener. I always assumed that a lot of Japanese technology, including vending machines dated from the 1970s and 1980s simply because these were the boom years in the Japanese economy which came abruptly to a halt with the crash of 1991. I also assumed that the Japanese continued to use vending machines and other dated technology, such as fax machines, as they missed out on the digital revolution of the 1990s and 2000s. However, you have provided very clear cultural reasons for the continued proliferation of vending machines. As for customers complaining, one only need to read the hilariously picky comments on Amazon.co.jp. It is also well known that the most stars that any Japanese consumer will give a restaurant is 3 out of 5. Such a score should not discourage visitors from trying them out!
Thanks for this! I'll definitely be having a look at some Amazon comments now. No doubt someone out there is doing a sociology PhD on the culture of customer commentary at Japanese Amazon...!