The attitude is strange with vending machines and other cultures. I saw a vending machine selling 20oz and 1.5l (I think?) bottles of coke for the same price. In America, that would be unheard of, why would anyone buy the 20oz bottle. But in Japan, it seemed like many people just bought what they needed.
Japanese Vending Machines at Night Juxtaposed with a Wintry Hokkaido Landscape
21–30 of 171 posts
Re: Japanese Vending Machines at Night Juxtaposed with a Wintry Hokkaido Landscape
#22Those Japanese vending machines blow my mind. I got lost on takao mountain once and was utterly hopeless of ever finding civilization again. I found abandoned and rotting tractors the forest had taken back, weird half completed concrete structures, the trail was gone, I was well and truly lost. Then, I turn a corner, and find a goddamned vending machine. Powered. With stock. I followed its power cord back for a solid…
Really interesting. There are a few scenes like this in the excellent art film Homo Sapiens[0][1] that stuck with me. Overgrown Japanese landscape with vending machines (don't remember if these were actually powered though).
Re: Japanese Vending Machines at Night Juxtaposed with a Wintry Hokkaido Landscape
#23While we're on the subject of Japanese vending machines, how do they implement the IC card scanning feature? Does it need to be connected to a special network or is the logic all done on the card? I'm specifically talking about the payment verification and logic. I have one in my office that accepts IC card payment and I'm not quite sure what is required for that to work.
Re: Japanese Vending Machines at Night Juxtaposed with a Wintry Hokkaido Landscape
#24Are there still machines selling cans of beer? That was one of the highlights of my visit to Tokyo. My host advised me that I must either stand at the machine and drink it or put it away while I walked. No drinking and walking. I was 14.
Not in Tokyo anymore, but they do have them around Kansai still.
Re: Japanese Vending Machines at Night Juxtaposed with a Wintry Hokkaido Landscape
#25Are there still machines selling cans of beer? That was one of the highlights of my visit to Tokyo. My host advised me that I must either stand at the machine and drink it or put it away while I walked. No drinking and walking. I was 14.
Not in Tokyo anymore, but they do have them around Kansai still.
Wait, really? I thought there were copious alcohol in Tokyo vending machines, at least the last time I visited.
Re: Japanese Vending Machines at Night Juxtaposed with a Wintry Hokkaido Landscape
#26The attitude is strange with vending machines and other cultures. I saw a vending machine selling 20oz and 1.5l (I think?) bottles of coke for the same price. In America, that would be unheard of, why would anyone buy the 20oz bottle. But in Japan, it seemed like many people just bought what they needed.
I'm not even Japanese and I'd buy the small can. I have no use for 0.5l of coke, let alone 1.5l. It's supposed to make me a bit more concentrated, not replace my water.
Re: Japanese Vending Machines at Night Juxtaposed with a Wintry Hokkaido Landscape
#27While we're on the subject of Japanese vending machines, how do they implement the IC card scanning feature? Does it need to be connected to a special network or is the logic all done on the card? I'm specifically talking about the payment verification and logic. I have one in my office that accepts IC card payment and I'm not quite sure what is required for that to work.
Suica, Pasmo and the like are all contactless SCs. The Wikipedia page is a good start, and you can go deeper from there: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suica
Re: Japanese Vending Machines at Night Juxtaposed with a Wintry Hokkaido Landscape
#28While we're on the subject of Japanese vending machines, how do they implement the IC card scanning feature? Does it need to be connected to a special network or is the logic all done on the card? I'm specifically talking about the payment verification and logic. I have one in my office that accepts IC card payment and I'm not quite sure what is required for that to work.
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Re: Japanese Vending Machines at Night Juxtaposed with a Wintry Hokkaido Landscape
#29The attitude is strange with vending machines and other cultures. I saw a vending machine selling 20oz and 1.5l (I think?) bottles of coke for the same price. In America, that would be unheard of, why would anyone buy the 20oz bottle. But in Japan, it seemed like many people just bought what they needed.
It's common for American grocery stores to sell 20 oz bottles for +-20% of the price of 2 liter bottles. The differentiation here is entirely in perception. The smaller bottle is usually chilled and seems like an individual serving. The larger bottle is considered to be a bulk purchase. Often, consumers will purchase both in the same trip, intentionally oblivious to the value differential.
Re: Japanese Vending Machines at Night Juxtaposed with a Wintry Hokkaido Landscape
#30Getting a hot chocolate out of a vending machine while the sky is dumping snow is one of life's many sublime pleasures.
After the Fukushima earthquake I was walking from Ebisu to Roppongi (all the subways were shuttered). A cold evening and I wasn't properly dressed.
Then I turned the corner and saw a machine with Tommy Lee Jones' staring down selling hot cans of Boss Coffee. Made the night a little easier.