The Most Bizarre Vending Machine in the World

There is a blog called Epsentis that is run in some far away country that I suspect speaks Portuguese... But I could be wrong.

They have what they claim to be the most bizarre vending machine in the world and, of course, it is claimed to come from Japan. Yes, this video looks to be from Japan, but (watch the video) and you'll see that this is fake (but I have no doubt that there's lots of Japanese guys trying to figure out how to make one of these....)

This is a moving gif so double click on the image and you'll see what it does.

This is a moving gif so double click on the image and you'll see what it does.

It is true that we have all sorts of weird vending machines in Japan... Trust that you could walk around Tokyo for a year and not see the weirdest ones (they tend to appeal to a certain group of people with, er, unusual tastes...) But, this one does not exist...

Though I would not doubt that there might be one that vends these sorts of dolls (Dutch Wife).

Probably the strangest thing about this entire thing is that some Japanese guys would go through the trouble to make this in the first place and that I would be bothering to blog about it in the second place.

Oh well, today is November 3rd. November 3rd is Culture Day in Japan and a national holiday. Welcome to Japanese culture 2010.

Marketing Japan: Japan's Love Affair with Vending Machines

By Mike in Tokyo Rogers


Japan has vending machines everywhere you look. It just goes to show you how little crime there in in this country still to this day.


You can see vending machines on the corner of any street in a big city like Tokyo but you can also see them on the corner on some dirt road out in the country in the middle of what seems like nowhere!

Now, in Tokyo, the game has been taken to the next level. In Shinjuku station a touch-screen vending machine has been installed.   

As online magazine Dvice reports:

Japan has a love affair with vending machines. You can get anything, from hot coffee to hot noodles to fresh fruit to cigarettes, from the ubiquitous machines. So it's only natural that they'd jump on the touchscreen vending machine bandwagon first.

A new touchscreen machine called the aCure has just been installed in the bustling Shinagawa Station in Tokyo, and it's already been attracting a crowd. Featuring the huge slew of various beverages that salarymen are used to, it doesn't do anything particularly novel. But it sure looks awesome, and it's flashy. And you know what? That might just be enough for it to catch on.

No, the one in Shinjuku station is not that great, but it is a test case. The next model is rumored to be something like the test model that Samsung (a Korean manufacturer) unveiled last year.


Here's a video of that device: 

Pretty cool, eh? Now I usually never buy anything from these vending machines, but I might buy something from one of these just to play with it...


But then again, if I can play with it as much as this girl does in the video, then I already know what the machine does, and, if I am not really thirsty, then why buy the drink?


That's what the manufactures of the machine need to figure out next: How to get people who play the machine to actually make a purchase!


Aha! Now there's the $64 million dollar question.


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Keywords: Shinjuku, vending machine, touch screen, Marketing Japan, Mike Rogers, Mike in Tokyo Rogers

Banana Vending Machine in Shibuya

By Mike in Tokyo Rogers

I read about how in the west that people are buying gold from vending machines now that their fiat currencies are dying a slow death.

In Japan, we sell something that is gold colored as well, but it's not gold; it's bananas in vending machines.

Dole Banana Vending Machine at Shibuya in Tokyo

Dole has installed a banana vending machine underground at 109 in Shibuya.

Now, you might think that a banana vending machine that sells bananas for about $1.50 (USD) could sell any bananas at all due to the high price, but you would be wrong. According to a Dole spokesman, the banana vending machine is doing quite well.

I usually buy my bananas at OK store. OK sells bananas for about ¥20 each (about $0.22 cents) when you buy a bunch of four.

According to Kyodo News, the banana vending machine is doing well. Kyodo reports:

Despite the premium prices, more than 2,500 have been sold within a month.

So, how is it possible that a banana vending machine could be selling bananas at such a high price and still be doing a brisk business? Well, it's very difficult to find bananas or fruits of any kind in Shibuya. I've been there easily over 1,000 times and couldn't tell you where a grocery store is.

There are a few convenience stores, several minutes walk from 109, but most convenience stores in Japan only sell processed poison and few carry any fruits at all...

109 department store in Shibuya

The only other option is you don't want to buy a banana for about $1.50 is to go to Starbucks. Starbucks sells bananas in Japan for ¥80 (about $0.90 cents) each.

But the average Japanese businessman doesn't want to eat a healthy banana in a place like Starbucks... I mean, where would they have their after-healthy-snack cigarette?

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Keywords:
Dole, banana, Tokyo, Shibuya, vending machine, banana vending machine, Japanese, Mike Rogers, Marketing Japan, Mike in Tokyo Rogers, Starbucks, gold, kyodo news, 109 department store