The Truth About Vending Machines

[Mulboyne]

[dimwit]

Ok, I'll buy that explanation. So er...how do soiled panty machines operate?_

[FG Lurker]

Ok, I'll buy that explanation. So er...how do soiled panty machines operate?_

I think they keep a minature donkey inside 'em to make sure the, uh, "scent" is nice'n'fresh.

[Greener]

You know what the secret of vending machines is:

Stuff costs more in vending machines in Japan than just walking that extra couple of blocks and buying the damn thing at a store.

Secret's out.

[dingosatemybaby]

You know what the secret of vending machines is:

Stuff costs more in vending machines in Japan than just walking that extra couple of blocks and buying the damn thing at a store.

Secret's out.

Price of a 500 ml bottle of tea/soda/etc at a vending machine: 150 yen

Price of a 500 ml bottle of tea/soda/etc at a combini: 147 yen, generally

3-yen difference? Ain't walking a couple of blocks. There's a Daiso shop nearby? Vending machine still wins, because 100-yen-shop drinks tend to be of the lukewarm, K-Mart brand (as it were) variety.

Speaking of J-vending machines, for all the tales of used-panty-comic-book-schoolgirl-urine vending machines, 90 percent, if not 99 percent, of J-vending machines seem to be for drinks only. In the US, a vastly larger portion of vending machines are dedicated to selling snack delicacies like Funyuns, Sniders Pretzels, and Corn-nuts (all TM). Guess that's because Americans are vastly larger themselves.

-dingo
-loves Greener's use of the word "cum" in his sig.
-feels you can never have enough cum.
-er, in your sig, that is.

[Greener]

You know what the secret of vending machines is:

Stuff costs more in vending machines in Japan than just walking that extra couple of blocks and buying the damn thing at a store.

Secret's out.

Price of a 500 ml bottle of tea/soda/etc at a vending machine: 150 yen

Price of a 500 ml bottle of tea/soda/etc at a combini: 147 yen, generally

3-yen difference? Ain't walking a couple of blocks. There's a Daiso shop nearby? Vending machine still wins, because 100-yen-shop drinks tend to be of the lukewarm, K-Mart brand (as it were) variety.

Cost of a 500ml bottle of Coke or Pepsi in a vending machine in Tokyo: 150yen.

Cost of same product in the supermarket: between 98-100yen

That is a pretty healthy savings. (Which adds up after a while. Take it from a miser like me.)

[karekora]

depends what youre buying. some things can be cheaper, but some things around the same.

basically vending machines might be expensive, but they are there for convenience. what do you treasure most - time or money?

[Mulboyne]

Higashi Nihon Kiosk claim this umbrella vending machine they have introduced at JR Suidobashi station is the first in Japan. Given the number of both umbrellas and vending machines in the country, that seems astonishing. The reason, it seems, is that the machines see too many days of zero sales when the weather is fine to be economic - an obstacle the company believes it can overcome.

[Mulboyne]

[Buraku]

1st beer machines, 2nd used panties, now cigarettes ?

http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7098
http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11613
http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forum/album_pic.php?pic_id=106
http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7712


!

[IkemenTommy]

You know what the secret of vending machines is:

Stuff costs more in vending machines in Japan than just walking that extra couple of blocks and buying the damn thing at a store.

Secret's out.

Price of a 500 ml bottle of tea/soda/etc at a vending machine: 150 yen

Price of a 500 ml bottle of tea/soda/etc at a combini: 147 yen, generally

3-yen difference? Ain't walking a couple of blocks. There's a Daiso shop nearby? Vending machine still wins, because 100-yen-shop drinks tend to be of the lukewarm, K-Mart brand (as it were) variety.

And don't you hate having those 3 yen chum change jingling in your pocket?

[IkemenTommy]

Cost of a 500ml bottle of Coke or Pepsi in a vending machine in Tokyo: 150yen.

Cost of same product in the supermarket: between 98-100yen

That is a pretty healthy savings. (Which adds up after a while. Take it from a miser like me.)

What I don't understand is why you don't get any discounts when you buy in a bulk (i.e. 6 pack or the 24 can case) in Japan. It's the same price as if you buy them individually.

[drpepper]

That's what Costco is for I buy by the case, 980 for 24 cans!

[IkemenTommy]

Ah yes.. costco.
But it still doesnt justify buying a 50 gallon jar of mayonaise so that it would last me for the next 100 years.

[drpepper]

It does if that 50 gallon jar is still cheaper than the 500 ml jar at the local super (and the good mayonaise not that cupie crap!)

[IkemenTommy]

What you talking about?
Squirt of Cupie tastes far better than that Best brand mayonaisse.

[drpepper]

Perhaps you have turned sour from eating to much of that god awful stuff.. best foods mayonaise is light years better than the cupie squirts anyday

[Taro Toporific]

. best foods mayonaise is light years better than the cupie squirts anyday

:puke:


Say NO 2 Mayo!

[Mulboyne]

Is the middle drink hot or cold?

[ichigo partygirl]

lukewarm, like most 'hot' drinks out of vending machines. That should be what is under all of the 'hot' drinks

[sillygirl]

Ichigo - really? The amount of times I nearly got 3rd degree burns from a can o' coffee...

[IkemenTommy]

I practically live off of that shit. A cheap caffeine thrill.

[ichigo partygirl]

[Mulboyne]

[Mulboyne]

Daily Yomiuri: Vending machines go high-tech

Vending machines usually bring to mind canned soft drinks and cigarettes, but recently they've started to change, offering such things as hot oden--a dish consisting of various ingredients, including slices of boiled daikon, balls of processed minced fish and hard-boiled eggs--and sushi. The functionality of vending machines has also improved. There are now machines designed to reduce garbage, offer drinks free of charge after an earthquake or talk to customers. A vending machine in Akihabara, Tokyo's electronics center, is one of these special machines. Insert two 100 yen coins and a large can containing hot oden will emerge (a can of oden including beef costs an extra 50 yen). Tengu Canning Co. in Nagoya developed the canned oden in 1985, selling it to tachinomi stand-up bars. In 1995, the oden vending machine was set up in Akihabara and it soon found favor, selling 10 million yen worth of canned oden a year.

[Featured in this FG post]




Link will expire so here's the rest:

Last year, the vending machine also appeared in a TV drama titled "Densha Otoko (Train Man)," a story based in Akihabara about a nerd who seeks advice on an Internet chat room about how to hook up with a woman he meets on a train. With the cold spell striking the country in December, two oden vending machines set monthly sales records--selling a total of 14,000 cans of oden. Kenichi Ito, 44, an assistant section chief at Tengu Canning, said it was hard to control the quality of oden; the oden deteriorates if it is overheated. "The Akihabara site is perfect because the canned oden is constantly being purchased, preventing it from becoming too hot," he said.

Vending machines on the ferries of Tokyo-based Ocean Tokyu Ferry Co., which link Tokyo with Tokushima and Kitakyushu, sell one serving of eight frozen sushi pieces topped with deep-water shrimp, tuna, scallop and other seafood for 500 yen. When it is thawed up in a special micro oven, the rice with vinegar becomes hot, but the toppings remain cold. Passengers can purchase the sushi with food cards distributed free of charge when boarding, or with cash. During the busy season, the company often sells all of the machine's 120 meals in a single trip. While the product would seem to have a wider appeal, suggesting vending machines selling it could hit the streets, an employee of Sundelica Co., a Tokyo-based food company that makes the sushi, insisted that the product only sold well on ferries because they do not have restaurants onboard.

According to the Japan Vending Machine Manufacturers Association, there are about 5.5 million vending machines, including those selling tickets, in Japan, making it the second largest vending machine country in the world after the United States. About 2.6 million of them sell soft drinks. In terms of number, vending machines have already reached saturation point, but now they are being designed to improve the environment. In November, a "My Cup" vending machines was installed in the annex of the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry in Kasumigaseki, Tokyo. People use their own cups to buy juice and coffee in order to reduce the use of paper cups.

A ministry official said that if the experiment at the ministry went well, the ministry would encourage companies to install such vending machines in their offices. Starting in 2003, Coca-Cola Japan Co. installed vending machines that can be remotely controlled to provide drinks free of charge in case of a disaster. It has already installed about 1,000 such machines in various parts of the country. The vending machines in the city hall of Nagaoka, Niigata Prefecture, provided bottles of tea and water to residents after the Chuetsu earthquake struck in October 2004.

Vending machines equipped with security cameras and emergency buzzers to protect children have recently been installed along school routes. Vending machines that sell alcohol are gradually being replaced by models capable of checking the age of a customer by scanning a form of ID, such as a driver's license, thereby preventing minors from buying spirits. In 2008, cigarette vending machines equipped with a system that can verify the age of a customer by reading a data card--issued to only adults--will be introduced.

Some vending machines can even communicate with buyers. In 2000, DyDo Drinco Inc. started installing vending machines that can say "Konnichiwa" (Hello) and "Itterasshai" (Have a nice day). The company has also installed vending machines that can say, "Sorry, I've run out of change" in the Kansai dialect. During the first three days of the New Year, the machines said, "Thank you, we're counting on you this year."

Fuji Electric Retail System Co. has developed a makeup vending machine that can not only talk to a customer but also features a camera that can help women choose what type of makeup suits them best. The machine, which has yet to be put into practical use, displays an image of the customer's face on a screen with a mocked-up image of what they would look like wearing a certain shade of lipstick. The Japan Vending Machine Manufacturers Association predicts that in the future, vending machines capable of offering advice based on users' preferences and health status will be invented.

Tsutomu Washizu, 61, who authored a book titled "Jido Hanbaiki no Bunka (The Culture of Vending Machines)" said that it would become much more convenient for people to get what they liked where and when they wanted it. "But it could lead to a culture of disposability, leading people to discard things when and wherever they want. Vending machines can make our life convenient, but they can also ruin our lifestyles," he said.

[Mulboyne]

More on Akihabara oden:

Mainichi: Traditional cans of oden become surprise hit at Akihabara
Cans of oden, traditional Japanese working-class food consisting of vegetables and fish dumplings served in a hot soy source soup, have become a surprise hit in the Akihabara district of central Tokyo. A business association formed by seven companies in Choshi, Chiba Prefecture, began selling the canned oden in May 2000. Priced at 315 yen, the 280-gram can contains a boiled fish ball, radish and an egg, all traditional items in the hot dish. Although Akihabara is the center of Japan's electronic appliance market, and of late Otaku (nerd) culture, the canned oden suddenly became a hit there last December. The canned food is on sale at vending machines and at electrical stores. The business association now produces about 40,000 cans of oden each month, about five times more than previous figures. An official of Shida Kanzume that produces the food said the product became a hit after a TV program featured it. About 80 percent of the product's sales are made in Akihabara. The company is now facing a shortage of cans and seasoning.

[kurohinge1]

More on Akihabara oden:

Mainichi: Traditional cans of oden become surprise hit at Akihabara
Cans of oden, traditional Japanese working-class food consisting of vegetables and fish dumplings served in a hot soy source soup, have become a surprise hit in the Akihabara district of central Tokyo. A business association formed by seven companies in Choshi, Chiba Prefecture, began selling the canned oden in May 2000. Priced at 315 yen, the 280-gram can contains a boiled fish ball, radish and an egg, all traditional items in the hot dish.
... The business association now produces about 40,000 cans of oden each month, about five times more than previous figures.
...The company is now facing a shortage of cans and seasoning.

OK! OK! I don't know about the can problem but I have Babba and Yagga working 24/7 to try and keep up with the seasoning demands.

Do you know hard it is to find eye of newt and bat's wing these days?

[Mulboyne]

Here's a blog entry by Times correspondent Leo Lewis:

Four reasons why vending machines are better than the Japanese civil service

[Iraira]

[quote="kurohinge1"]OK! OK! I don't know about the can problem but I have Babba and Yagga working 24/7 to try and keep up with the seasoning demands.

Do you know hard it is to find eye of newt and bat's wing these days?



]

My ex-wife surely has plenty of newt eyes and bat wings to go around.

Me, bitter?

[Greji]

[quote="kurohinge1"]OK! OK! I don't know about the can problem but I have Babba and Yagga working 24/7 to try and keep up with the seasoning demands. ]

Your seasoning is alright with me Kuro, I just hope you vending business expands (this is yours, isn't it?)