Japan

The Beverage Machines Empire


Student Customers
Students pose for photography in front of a Naha camera
Ramen
Couple sharing instant soup in front of a drink machine in Takayama, Hida region
in orange tone
Drink machine respects the artistic standards of the wall on which it is installed.
in Ishigaki
Drink machines side by side with street artwork on Ishigaki Island, south of Okinawa
Lolita Style
A resident of Asakusa, Tokyo, dressed in a Lolita style, poses in front of a neighborhood machine.
break in can
Employees of an Asakusa Maid Café take time to enjoy drinks in the back of their workplace.
Mayu, Osaka
Mayu, an Osaka resident used to buying coffee cans from the machines in her city.
regular tea and milk tea
Kirin brand cold teas. Hot drinks have a red bar underneath instead of blue.
cold teas
Kirin brand cold teas. Hot drinks have a red bar underneath instead of blue.
Hot & Cold
Machine with hot and cold drinks in a Tokyo street.
smoke tunnel
Sequence of machines under a Tokyo railway bridge filled with small street restaurants.
in Nara
Deer passes in front of the drinks machine placed in the park of Nara.
Coke & Cola Model
Classically designed machine, a rarity among millions of sophisticated specimens.
There are more than 5 million ultra-tech light boxes spread across the country and many more exuberant cans and bottles of appealing drinks. The Japanese have long since stopped resisting them.

Thanks to the proximity of vast, icy Siberia, Japanese winter often sets in sooner than expected. Sometimes it invades the months of a sunny spring.

There was the last of these meteorological whims. We explored the domains of Mount Fuji from the base of its southern slope, nestled between Saruga Bay and the slope of the volcano.

The days dawned damp and frigid. Only from time to time did we glimpse the distant snowy summit of the mountain, among the clouds that had settled.

In order to make the most of these ephemeral periods of visibility, we sacrificed ourselves to early awakenings. The dawns brought us to the station of train of Kofu before the first work “automatons” Japanese

And even the opening of convenience stores in the area, less present than usual because we are almost 100km from Tokyo.

Beverage Machines, Japan

Drink machine respects the artistic standards of the wall on which it is installed.

Early Bird Breakfast sweets Nippon and Milk-Tea

The twenty-minute walk chilled us and aroused a ravenous appetite. As soon as we reached the platform, we would take from our backpacks any industrial snack purchased the day before and fly to the vending machines installed there.

One hundred and thirty yen (slightly more than 1 euro), guarantee us the first moment to receive

Beverage Machines, Japan

Employees of an Asakusa Maid Café take time to enjoy drinks in the back of their workplace.

compensator of the day. The purchase couldn't be easier and faster. We already knew by heart and sautéed the position of our favorite drink.

The 100 yen and cent coins we inserted fell almost soundlessly. It was enough for us not to miss the correct button for a bottle of very hot Milk Tea Kirin to rush into the tank, like a kind of food jackpot.

All around, frost painted the suburban landscape white and covered sections of the station.

The small Japanese bowls looked more like styrofoam but the first sips of tea with milk had the flavor of salvation. During several months of exploring Japan, those machines saved us time and time again.

Beverage Machines, Japan

Kirin brand cold teas. Hot drinks have a red bar underneath instead of blue.

The Japanese Profusion of Japanese Beverage Machines

There is one drink machine for every twenty-two Japanese inhabitants (about 5 million in total). They appear in fewer numbers in the most unusual rural or mountainous corners of the country. Or as part of veritable electrified armies that took over cities and their surroundings.

They belong to big technology companies. They rent them to the main Japanese and multinational companies that sell beverages.

Beverage Machines, Japan

A resident of Asakusa, Tokyo, dressed in a Lolita style, poses in front of a neighborhood machine.

In areas with the greatest movement of people – such as Shinjuku, Tokyo, where the busiest train and subway station in the world is located – they can appear in endless sequences that drive the most indecisive customers to despair.

The offer is not for less. In addition to a panoply of mineral, vitamin and flavored waters and the usual international soft drinks – Coca Cola, Pepsi, Fanta, etc. – the machines offer numerous soft drinks and Japanese juices (the Japanese call them all jujuu) various types of teas, teas with milk, countless types of coffee (regular, Premium and hyper-strong), from coffee with milk and even chocolate.

Beverage Machines, Japan

Machine with hot and cold drinks in a Tokyo street.

The Disposition and Suggestion of Drinks with Japanese Efficiency

As a rule, drinks are organized by category. A blue or red bar below the price line determines whether they are hot or chilled products.

The former diminish as winter lags behind. Okinawa and other subtropical islands of Ryukyu, they always have some cold cans and bottles to represent them.

Beverage Machines, Japan

Drink machines side by side with street artwork on Ishigaki Island, south of Okinawa

After this pre-choice of temperature, the selection of the drink can involve different factors. Habit will be one of the main ones, as will the client's physical need and state of mind.

The manipulative ability of companies cannot be underestimated. No country developed the design art like Japan. The labels and packaging of small cans and bottles capture many brains.

This is what we believe because it seems hardly credible that, in a nation with the purchasing power of Japan, the slight difference between 100 and 150 yen (minimum and maximum drink prices) exerts too much influence.

Drinks For Every Taste. And Matching Japanese Tastes

In our particular case, we managed to reach the drinks of our choice in a short time: Milk Tea from Kirin or from two or three other brands (the taste doesn't change) was chosen for breakfast, to heat or refresh as it exists in hot and refrigerated.

We opted for an exceptional isotonic drink when the heat and thirst were overpowering, and for a coffee or coffee with milk in the rare times when we needed an extra stimulus to overcome sleep or tiredness and continue discovering.

Millions of Japanese and gaijins (foreigners) remain undecided. With the purpose of influencing them, some machines equipped with facial recognition systems that recommend drinks based on the age and gender of the customer were recently launched.

Beverage Machines, Japan

Sequence of machines under a Tokyo railway bridge filled with small street restaurants.

Out of curiosity, the company responsible for its creation and marketing is JR East Water Business Co, neither more nor less than a subsidiary of the railway company JR EastCo. And this fact helps to demonstrate the versatility and business dynamics that Japanese transport companies deliver.

Back to facial recognition, if you identify a man in his fifties, the recommendation would likely fall on green tea. If this man is younger, it will become a cafe.

A woman in her early twenties will be suggested a milk tea or something sweeter. The creators also anticipated other situations.

Mayu, an Osaka resident used to buying coffee cans from the machines in her city.

The drink recommendation may depend on the temperature and time of day.

In any case, the recommended product is identified with a special electronic tag that activates immediately.

And Other Technological Extras Improved From Year to Year

And, according to an agreement between Japanese municipalities and vending companies, machines positioned in strategic places – such as subway and train stations – were equipped with a special energy support system and programmed to offer drinks in the event of natural disasters.

In times of normality, payment for drinks can be made using coins or bills, or even smart card systems such as the popular Suica that took over Japan and is used for numerous purposes. Market laws dictate that payment is not always required.

Beverage Machines, Japan

Couple sharing instant soup in front of a drink machine in Takayama, Hida region

Some vending operators for less expensive drinks (70 to 120 yen and served in paper cups with logos and even mini-ads printed on them) remembered to offer discounts or even drinks to people watching movies in return. advertisements with about 30 seconds.

The task seemed simple and even fun to millions of Japanese people.

Today, these machines already exceed 50.000 units. They joined the more than five million who had already conquered the nation of emperors.

Beverage Machines, Japan

Deer passes in front of the drinks machine placed in the park of Nara.

World Food

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Each people, their recipes and delicacies. In certain cases, the same ones that delight entire nations repel many others. For those who travel the world, the most important ingredient is a very open mind.
Okinawa, Japan

The Little Empire of the Sun

Risen from the devastation caused by World War II, Okinawa has regained the heritage of its secular Ryukyu civilization. Today, this archipelago south of Kyushu is home to a Japan on the shore, anchored by a turquoise Pacific ocean and bathed in a peculiar Japanese tropicalism.
Tokyo, Japan

Pachinko: The Video - Addiction That Depresses Japan

It started as a toy, but the Japanese appetite for profit quickly turned pachinko into a national obsession. Today, there are 30 million Japanese surrendered to these alienating gaming machines.
Tokyo, Japan

Disposable Purrs

Tokyo is the largest of the metropolises but, in its tiny apartments, there is no place for pets. Japanese entrepreneurs detected the gap and launched "catteries" in which the feline affections are paid by the hour.
Tokyo, Japan

The Emperor Without Empire

After the capitulation in World War II, Japan underwent a constitution that ended one of the longest empires in history. The Japanese emperor is, today, the only monarch to reign without empire.
Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo's fashion

In ultra-populous and hyper-coded Japan, there is always room for more sophistication and creativity. Whether national or imported, it is in the capital that they begin to parade the new Japanese looks.
Tokyo, Japan

Japanese Style Passaport-Type Photography

In the late 80s, two Japanese multinationals already saw conventional photo booths as museum pieces. They turned them into revolutionary machines and Japan surrendered to the Purikura phenomenon.
Kyoto, Japan

The Kyoto Temple Reborn from the Ashes

The Golden Pavilion has been spared destruction several times throughout history, including that of US-dropped bombs, but it did not withstand the mental disturbance of Hayashi Yoken. When we admired him, he looked like never before.
Okinawa, Japan

Ryukyu Dances: Centuries old. In No Hurry.

The Ryukyu kingdom prospered until the XNUMXth century as a trading post for the China and Japan. From the cultural aesthetics developed by its courtly aristocracy, several styles of slow dance were counted.
Miyajima, Japan

Shintoism and Buddhism with the Tide

Visitors to the Tori of Itsukushima admire one of the three most revered scenery in Japan. On the island of Miyajima, Japanese religiosity blends with Nature and is renewed with the flow of the Seto Inland Sea.
Iriomote, Japan

The Small Tropical Japanese Amazon of Iriomote

Impenetrable rainforests and mangroves fill Iriomote under a pressure cooker climate. Here, foreign visitors are as rare as the yamaneko, an elusive endemic lynx.
Nikko, Japan

The Tokugawa Shogun Final Procession

In 1600, Ieyasu Tokugawa inaugurated a shogunate that united Japan for 250 years. In her honor, Nikko re-enacts the general's medieval relocation to Toshogu's grandiose mausoleum every year.
Nara, Japan

The Colossal Cradle of the Japanese Buddhism

Nara has long since ceased to be the capital and its Todai-ji temple has been demoted. But the Great Hall remains the largest ancient wooden building in the world. And it houses the greatest bronze Vairocana Buddha.
Takayama, Japan

From the Ancient Japan to the Medieval Hida

In three of its streets, Takayama retains traditional wooden architecture and concentrates old shops and sake producers. Around it, it approaches 100.000 inhabitants and surrenders to modernity.
Kyoto, Japan

An Almost Lost Millennial Japan

Kyoto was on the US atomic bomb target list and it was more than a whim of fate that preserved it. Saved by an American Secretary of War in love with its historical and cultural richness and oriental sumptuousness, the city was replaced at the last minute by Nagasaki in the atrocious sacrifice of the second nuclear cataclysm.
Ogimashi, Japan

A Village Faithful to the A

Ogimashi reveals a fascinating heritage of Japanese adaptability. Located in one of the most snowy places on Earth, this village has perfected houses with real anti-collapse structures.
Magome-Tsumago, Japan

Magome to Tsumago: The Overcrowded Path to the Medieval Japan

In 1603, the Tokugawa shogun dictated the renovation of an ancient road system. Today, the most famous stretch of the road that linked Edo to Kyoto is covered by a mob eager to escape.
Hiroshima, Japan

Hiroshima: a City Yielded to Peace

On August 6, 1945, Hiroshima succumbed to the explosion of the first atomic bomb used in war. 70 years later, the city fights for the memory of the tragedy and for nuclear weapons to be eradicated by 2020.
Tokyo, Japan

The Fish Market That Lost its Freshness

In a year, each Japanese eats more than their weight in fish and shellfish. Since 1935, a considerable part was processed and sold in the largest fish market in the world. Tsukiji was terminated in October 2018, and replaced by Toyosu's.
Kyoto, Japan

A Combustible Faith

During the Shinto celebration of Ohitaki, prayers inscribed on tablets by the Japanese faithful are gathered at the Fushimi temple. There, while being consumed by huge bonfires, her belief is renewed.
Residents walk along the trail that runs through plantations above the UP4
City
Gurué, Mozambique, Part 1

Through the Mozambican Lands of Tea

The Portuguese founded Gurué in the 1930th century and, from XNUMX onwards, flooded it with camellia sinensis the foothills of the Namuli Mountains. Later, they renamed it Vila Junqueiro, in honor of its main promoter. With the independence of Mozambique and the civil war, the town regressed. It continues to stand out for the lush green imposing mountains and teak landscapes.
Host Wezi points out something in the distance
Beach
Cobue; Nkwichi Lodge, Mozambique

The Hidden Mozambique of the Creaking Sands

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Esteros del Iberá, Pantanal Argentina, Alligator
safari
Iberá Wetlands, Argentina

The Pantanal of the Pampas

On the world map, south of the famous brazilian wetland, a little-known flooded region appears, but almost as vast and rich in biodiversity. the Guarani expression Y bera defines it as “shining waters”. The adjective fits more than its strong luminance.
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit: 5th - Ngawal a BragaNepal

Towards the Nepalese Braga

We spent another morning of glorious weather discovering Ngawal. There is a short journey towards Manang, the main town on the way to the zenith of the Annapurna circuit. We stayed for Braga (Braka). The hamlet would soon prove to be one of its most unforgettable places.
Itamaraty Palace Staircase, Brasilia, Utopia, Brazil
Architecture & Design
Brasilia, Brazil

Brasília: from Utopia to the Capital and Political Arena of Brazil

Since the days of the Marquis of Pombal, there has been talk of transferring the capital to the interior. Today, the chimera city continues to look surreal but dictates the rules of Brazilian development.
lagoons and fumaroles, volcanoes, PN tongariro, new zealand
Aventura
Tongariro, New Zealand

The Volcanoes of All Discords

In the late XNUMXth century, an indigenous chief ceded the PN Tongariro volcanoes to the British crown. Today, a significant part of the Maori people claim their mountains of fire from European settlers.
Military Religious, Wailing Wall, IDF Flag Oath, Jerusalem, Israel
Ceremonies and Festivities
Jerusalem, Israel

A Festive Wailing Wall

The holiest place in Judaism is not only attended by prayers and prayers. Its ancient stones have witnessed the oath of new IDF recruits for decades and echo the euphoric screams that follow.
Cape Town, South Africa, Nelson Mandela
Cities
Cape Town, South Africa

In the End: the Cape

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Obese resident of Tupola Tapaau, a small island in Western Samoa.
Lunch time
Tonga, Western Samoa, Polynesia

XXL Pacific

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Culture
Look-alikes, Actors and Extras

Make-believe stars

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Spectator, Melbourne Cricket Ground-Rules footbal, Melbourne, Australia
Sport
Melbourne, Australia

The Football the Australians Rule

Although played since 1841, Australian Football has only conquered part of the big island. Internationalization has never gone beyond paper, held back by competition from rugby and classical football.
Cambodia, Angkor, Ta Phrom
Traveling
Ho Chi Minh a of Angkor, Cambodia

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From Vietnam onwards, Cambodia's crumbling roads and minefields take us back to the years of Khmer Rouge terror. We survive and are rewarded with the vision of the greatest religious temple
Elalab, aerial view, Guinea Bissau
Ethnic
Elalab, Guinea Bissau

A Tabanca in the Guinea of ​​Endless Meanders

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sunlight photography, sun, lights
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Natural Light (Part 2)

One Sun, So Many Lights

Most travel photos are taken in sunlight. Sunlight and weather form a capricious interaction. Learn how to predict, detect and use at its best.
Bathers on the threshold between the Natural Pools and the Atlantic Ocean, Porto Moniz
History
Porto Moniz e Ribeira da Janela, Madeira

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We explore lands that are said to have been colonized, back in the 15th century, by the Algarvian Francisco Moniz, the Elder. After almost half a millennium, Porto Moniz became a popular bathing area, largely due to its pools contained in a labyrinth of lava rock.
Bubaque, Bijagós, Guinea Bissau, mooring
Islands
Bubaque, Bijagos, Guinea Bissau

The Portal of the Bijagós

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Reindeer Racing, Kings Cup, Inari, Finland
Winter White
Inari, Finland

The Wackiest Race on the Top of the World

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Lake Manyara, National Park, Ernest Hemingway, Giraffes
Literature
Lake Manyara NP, Tanzania

Hemingway's Favorite Africa

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Guides penetrate Cidade de Pedra, Pirenópolis
Nature
Cidade de Pedra (Stone Town), Goiás, Brazil

A City of Stone. Precious.

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Sheki, Autumn in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Autumn Homes
Autumn
Sheki, Azerbaijan

autumn in the caucasus

Lost among the snowy mountains that separate Europe from Asia, Sheki is one of Azerbaijan's most iconic towns. Its largely silky history includes periods of great harshness. When we visited it, autumn pastels added color to a peculiar post-Soviet and Muslim life.
Torres del Paine, Dramatic Patagonia, Chile
Natural Parks
PN Torres del Paine, Chile

The Most Dramatic Patagonia

Nowhere is the southernmost reaches of South America so breathtaking as the Paine Mountains. There, a natural fort of granite colossi surrounded by lakes and glaciers protrudes from the pampa and submits to the whims of meteorology and light.
UNESCO World Heritage
Boat Trips

For Those Becoming Internet Sick

Hop on and let yourself go on unmissable boat trips like the Philippine archipelago of Bacuit and the frozen sea of ​​the Finnish Gulf of Bothnia.
Era Susi towed by dog, Oulanka, Finland
Characters
PN Oulanka, Finland

A Slightly Lonesome Wolf

Jukka “Era-Susi” Nordman has created one of the largest packs of sled dogs in the world. He became one of Finland's most iconic characters but remains faithful to his nickname: Wilderness Wolf.
Cabo Ledo Angola, moxixeiros
Beaches
Cape Ledo, Angola

Cape Ledo and its Bay of Joy

Just 120km south of Luanda, capricious waves of the Atlantic and cliffs crowned with moxixeiros compete for the land of musseque. The large cove is shared by foreigners surrendered to the scene and Angolan residents who have long been supported by the generous sea.
Police intervention, ultra-Orthodox Jews, Jaffa, Tel Aviv, Israel
Religion
Jaffa, Israel

Unorthodox protests

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Executives sleep subway seat, sleep, sleep, subway, train, Tokyo, Japan
On Rails
Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo's Hypno-Passengers

Japan is served by millions of executives slaughtered with infernal work rates and sparse vacations. Every minute of respite on the way to work or home serves them for their inemuri, napping in public.
San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Zapatismo, Mexico, San Nicolau Cathedral
Society
San Cristobal de Las Casas, Mexico

The Home Sweet Home of Mexican Social Conscience

Mayan, mestizo and Hispanic, Zapatista and tourist, country and cosmopolitan, San Cristobal has no hands to measure. In it, Mexican and expatriate backpacker visitors and political activists share a common ideological demand.
herd, foot-and-mouth disease, weak meat, colonia pellegrini, argentina
Daily life
Colónia Pellegrini, Argentina

When the Meat is Weak

The unmistakable flavor of Argentine beef is well known. But this wealth is more vulnerable than you think. The threat of foot-and-mouth disease, in particular, keeps authorities and growers afloat.
Ross Bridge, Tasmania, Australia
Wildlife
Discovering tassie, Part 3, Tasmania, Australia

Tasmania from Top to Bottom

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Napali Coast and Waimea Canyon, Kauai, Hawaii Wrinkles
Scenic Flights
napali coast, Hawaii

Hawaii's Dazzling Wrinkles

Kauai is the greenest and rainiest island in the Hawaiian archipelago. It is also the oldest. As we explore its Napalo Coast by land, sea and air, we are amazed to see how the passage of millennia has only favored it.