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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

#111

Post by rip_lavabit »

rangibaby wrote: post #104
on_and_off wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Part of the reason there are so many vending machines around is preparation for a disaster; vending machines from at least the last 15 years will dispense drinks for free in the event of a disaster. According to this site Coca Cola dispensed around four million free drinks on 2011/3/11 (Great East Japan Earthquake). http://www.cocacola.co.jp/vending-machine/emergency-support

If the vending machines are giving stuff away, what will CNN fill airtime with, when they can't complain about looters?!

Just kidding, I know they will just speculate about the possibility of it instead.

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

#112

Post by rangibaby »

barking wrote: post #94

In many ways Japan seems like a paradise. Crime free, almost, 70%+ forest coverage, technologically advanced but still respect for long-standing cultural traditions. It's unrivalled social cohesiveness comes at the cost though of a lack of diversity. For example, I read somewhere it gets less than 100 asylum seekers a year.

> Crime free

It's because there are police everywhere, which keeps petty crime under control. There is a bounty for turning in lost money (and if it is not claimed after a certain period the person who turned it in can keep the whole amount).

Police are also mostly respected here because they (mostly) are helpful and don't harass citizens. Someone being beaten or shot by police like overseas just doesn't happen here.

> lack of diversity

I once worked at a place that was known for being a safe place for ethnic Koreans to "come out" about their real ethnicity. I was considered to be safe to work there because some were public figures and I would not recognize them, or at least not blab on social media about x TV presenter having Korean heritage.

I guess my point is that a lot of things in Japan are completely different to how they appear to a casual observer. Even asking Japanese people is not going to get you far, because most people will not tell you their real feelings or opinions unless you are a very close friend.

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

#113

Post by nostromo123 »

Rainymood wrote: post #97
barking wrote: post #94

In many ways Japan seems like a paradise. Crime free, almost, 70%+ forest coverage, technologically advanced but still respect for long-standing cultural traditions. It's unrivalled social cohesiveness comes at the cost though of a lack of diversity. For example, I read somewhere it gets less than 100 asylum seekers a year.

> social cohesiveness Also known as xenophobia. >For example, I read somewhere it gets less than 100 asylum seekers a year. And this is by definition a good thing? Don't forget the awesome working hours and working culture! It's so good that they even have a word for the awesome overworking: Karoshi [1]. I wouldn't romanticize Japan this hard as you are doing right now, it has it's own sleuth of problems just like an…

>>For example, I read somewhere it gets less than 100 asylum seekers a year.

>And this is by definition a good thing?

Been to Germany / Sweden lately?

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

#114

Post by kw71 »

bdowling wrote: post #62
iand675 wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

More common are the vending machines that will sell you a ticket for a meal, which you then hand to the person who will make your food and give it to you. I'm not certain if that scheme is done for fraud prevention, or if it is done for convenience in order to have fewer employees.

It prevents the employees from handling cash

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

#115

Post by bjornsteffanson »

squimmy wrote: post #101
barking wrote: post #94

In many ways Japan seems like a paradise. Crime free, almost, 70%+ forest coverage, technologically advanced but still respect for long-standing cultural traditions. It's unrivalled social cohesiveness comes at the cost though of a lack of diversity. For example, I read somewhere it gets less than 100 asylum seekers a year.

>technologically advanced You might revise your opinion about that somewhere around the hundredth time somebody tells you that you have to communicate with them by fax.

I would definitely describe "putting two coins into a vending machine to receive a ticket to hand to someone in exchange for a tasty bowl of ramen" as more technically advanced than "table for two?...[waiting, waiting]...one ramen, please...[waiting, waiting]..."everything ok here?" "yes go away" [waiting waiting] ... "here's the bill"...[waiting waiting]..."have a nice night"

Advanced tech doesn't have to be high tech.

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

#116

Post by DamonHD »

rangibaby wrote: post #112
barking wrote: post #94

In many ways Japan seems like a paradise. Crime free, almost, 70%+ forest coverage, technologically advanced but still respect for long-standing cultural traditions. It's unrivalled social cohesiveness comes at the cost though of a lack of diversity. For example, I read somewhere it gets less than 100 asylum seekers a year.

> Crime free It's because there are police everywhere, which keeps petty crime under control. There is a bounty for turning in lost money (and if it is not claimed after a certain period the person who turned it in can keep the whole amount). Police are also mostly respected here because they (mostly) are helpful and don't harass citizens. Someone being beaten or shot by police like overseas just doesn't happen here.…

I've picked up substantial dropped money on the ground, handed it into the police, and had it returned to us in full after some time, in the UK; it's not just Japan!

> close friend

I terrorised one Japanese work colleague by crying in front of him on a train (can't remember whether in London or Tokyo), but another long-standing Japanese colleague/friend would be entirely cool about it I suspect!

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

#117

Post by DamonHD »

bjornsteffanson wrote: post #115
squimmy wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>technologically advanced You might revise your opinion about that somewhere around the hundredth time somebody tells you that you have to communicate with them by fax.

I would definitely describe "putting two coins into a vending machine to receive a ticket to hand to someone in exchange for a tasty bowl of ramen" as more technically advanced than "table for two?...[waiting, waiting]...one ramen, please...[waiting, waiting]..."everything ok here?" "yes go away" [waiting waiting] ... "here's the bill"...[waiting waiting]..."have a nice night" Advanced tech doesn't have to be high te…

Well no, it just seems completely bizarre and adds little value to the process in my experience and HO. (Still, happy to be corrected...)

When just arrived in Tokyo for the first or second time and still feeling a bit nervous I went into an empty noodle place and was completely lost until the cook put down what he was doing and in utterly perfect English walked me through the whole process...

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

#118

Post by odiroot »

rangibaby wrote: post #112
barking wrote: post #94

In many ways Japan seems like a paradise. Crime free, almost, 70%+ forest coverage, technologically advanced but still respect for long-standing cultural traditions. It's unrivalled social cohesiveness comes at the cost though of a lack of diversity. For example, I read somewhere it gets less than 100 asylum seekers a year.

> Crime free It's because there are police everywhere, which keeps petty crime under control. There is a bounty for turning in lost money (and if it is not claimed after a certain period the person who turned it in can keep the whole amount). Police are also mostly respected here because they (mostly) are helpful and don't harass citizens. Someone being beaten or shot by police like overseas just doesn't happen here.…

This may be a bit ignorant but why do they care so much about someone being Korean / of Korean ancestry?

Both are East Asian. It's really hard to understand for my European mind.

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

#119

Post by rwmj »

peterwwillis wrote: post #96
ISL wrote: post #2

Getting a hot chocolate out of a vending machine while the sky is dumping snow is one of life's many sublime pleasures.

For me it was the hot milk tea. Almost impossible to find in the West, every morning at near freezing temps I could cling to a metal piping hot can of sweet milk tea. I can't go a day in .jp without grabbing a can. What really surprised me is how in a place like Tokyo the machines seemed to only reliably function using change, whereas in Norway you pay for bus station lockers and public toilets with credit cards.

"Royal Milk Tea" is easy to make (although it's hard to clean the pan afterwards). Boil a cupful of milk with a teabag in it. Once it's boiled, take out the teabag and add sugar. In fact I think I might have one right now ...

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

#120

Post by Cthulhu_ »

rip_lavabit wrote: post #111
rangibaby wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Part of the reason there are so many vending machines around is preparation for a disaster; vending machines from at least the last 15 years will dispense drinks for free in the event of a disaster. According to this site Coca Cola dispensed around four million free drinks on 2011/3/11 (Great East Japan Earthquake). http://www.cocacola.co.jp/vending-machine/emergency-support

If the vending machines are giving stuff away, what will CNN fill airtime with, when they can't complain about looters?! Just kidding, I know they will just speculate about the possibility of it instead.

If the looters politely just took some groceries they needed but couldn't pay for because the local economy was in disarray then I'm sure they wouldn't complain. It's batshit people hoarding TV's and shit though.
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