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Japanese Vending Machines at Night Juxtaposed with a Wintry Hokkaido Landscape

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Re: Japanese Vending Machines at Night Juxtaposed with a Wintry Hokkaido Landscape

#51

Post by StavrosK »

iand675 wrote: post #44
StavrosK wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wait wait wait, so that photo of the vending machine in the middle of nowhere isn't a set up by the photographer? I thought he put the machine there, along with a generator behind it, just to take the photo!

It's really like that. In the countryside, you'll occasionally see rice fields with small walkways in between them in a + configuration with a vending machine hanging out in the middle. Presumably for the farmers to get something to drink...

Oh wow, that's crazy. I've only been to Tokyo, where they weren't out of place, but out in the fields? Sounds like quite the sight.

Re: Japanese Vending Machines at Night Juxtaposed with a Wintry Hokkaido Landscape

#52

Post by cwkoss »

mc32 wrote: post #47
krapp wrote: post #36

When the story about the Bodega startup[0] came out, it occurred to me that what they were trying to do was essentially what Japan is already doing with vending machines - automate retail at scale. Unfortunately, Bodega tried to undermine, transform and rebrand the local culture in a way that many found offensive, but that aside, I wonder what particular cultural elements make vending machines seem so successful in J…

I don't get the bodega hooplah. Every startup is taking away some way of making a living of someone else. It's like saying pizza hut coopted Italian pizza joints and drove Italian pizza makers out of biz. Sure, it did, but aside from the fact jobs were lateralized, what's the big deal about transforming the biz? Same with Uber et all.

It's because New Yorkers have a romanticized ideal of bodegas.

Re: Japanese Vending Machines at Night Juxtaposed with a Wintry Hokkaido Landscape

#53

Post by iand675 »

addedlovely wrote: post #48
iand675 wrote: post #45

The odd thing to me about Japan's vending machine situation is that it's largely drinks. Not much in the way of the snack vending machines that one frequently encounters in the U.S. I suppose it's probably due to the Japanese aversion to preservatives / prevalence of convenience stores, but one would think they'd have come up with some tricks like the ones they've perfected with cup noodles.

I remember also getting vended fries, but hot and cold drinks alone blew my mind coming from the U.K.

Yeah, there are fresh food vending machines around in a few places... notably in government offices like city hall or ward offices where you might have to wait for a while.

Re: Japanese Vending Machines at Night Juxtaposed with a Wintry Hokkaido Landscape

#54

Post by twblalock »

StavrosK wrote: post #32
komali2 wrote: post #9

Those 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…

Wait wait wait, so that photo of the vending machine in the middle of nowhere isn't a set up by the photographer? I thought he put the machine there, along with a generator behind it, just to take the photo!

There are even vending machines at the summit of Mt. Fuji.

Re: Japanese Vending Machines at Night Juxtaposed with a Wintry Hokkaido Landscape

#55

Post by eagletusk »

on_and_off wrote: post #50
komali2 wrote: post #9

Those 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…

Who buys stuff in a vending machine in the middle of nowhere though ? I am really intrigued.

Miki Meek a radio producer who I meet on a 4 day trek through Guatemala has a This American Life about a phone booth in the middle of nowhere in Japan with no connections to power, people go there to talk to deceased loved ones. It's a beautiful piece of radio journalism. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/597/...

Re: Japanese Vending Machines at Night Juxtaposed with a Wintry Hokkaido Landscape

#56

Post by Iv »

StavrosK wrote: post #51
iand675 wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's really like that. In the countryside, you'll occasionally see rice fields with small walkways in between them in a + configuration with a vending machine hanging out in the middle. Presumably for the farmers to get something to drink...

Oh wow, that's crazy. I've only been to Tokyo, where they weren't out of place, but out in the fields? Sounds like quite the sight.

Can confirm. I live in the countryside. There are vending machines down some roads with ricefields on both sides.

Re: Japanese Vending Machines at Night Juxtaposed with a Wintry Hokkaido Landscape

#57

Post by prawn »

jefurii wrote: post #42
krapp wrote: post #36

When the story about the Bodega startup[0] came out, it occurred to me that what they were trying to do was essentially what Japan is already doing with vending machines - automate retail at scale. Unfortunately, Bodega tried to undermine, transform and rebrand the local culture in a way that many found offensive, but that aside, I wonder what particular cultural elements make vending machines seem so successful in J…

Nope, different. Many of those pictures have vending machines sitting outside neighborhood mom-and-pop stores. From my experience living in Japan, those machines are most likely owned/leased by the owner of the store, who stocks them and collects the profits. They function as a labor-saving device for high-trafficked items and a way to sell during off-hours. My understanding of Bodega is that they want to replace the…

"They function as a labor-saving device for high-trafficked items and a way to sell during off-hours."

Seemed to be Bodega's plan also.

If they want to go after a particular market, so be it. I'd rather it be a new business than a venture by a corporate giant. That opportunity has been available to every mom-and-pop store too, right? Even if it was just one vending machine in one nearby apartment building?

I can appreciate the romance of corner stores, but if they're not innovating or marketing, they risk losing out to others who are.

Re: Japanese Vending Machines at Night Juxtaposed with a Wintry Hokkaido Landscape

#58

Post by GuiA »

komali2 wrote: post #9

Those 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…

Man, how'd you get lost on Mount Takao? It's always so crowded... if you have any info that'd let one find that lone vending machine, I'm interested :)

Re: Japanese Vending Machines at Night Juxtaposed with a Wintry Hokkaido Landscape

#59

Post by veidr »

wodenokoto wrote: post #24
skeltoac wrote: post #19

Are 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.

There are fewer in Tokyo than in the 1980s, but they still exist. They are in virtually wall hotels, but there's a beer and chuhai vending machine on the street near my kids' Tokyo preschool.
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