Vending Machines (2004-05-02)
Japan must be a very thirsty nation. Just look at the number of drinks vending machines here, you cannot walk more than ten minutes on any street and not come across one. Although their omnipresence is a little strange, they are indeed very handy especially in the summer when a cool drink is almost like a life-saver in the sweltering heat.
The second most popular vending machines must be the cigarette
ones. They are ubiquitous, and so are smokers. There
are also beer and sake (Japanese rice wine) vending machines which puts
the law about legal drinking age right into the bin . I'm
surprised that underage drinking isn't much of a problem here, either
Japanese
youngsters have tremendous amount of self-control or that alcohol is no
longer such a big deal when it can be bought simply by inserting a
couple of coins in a machine.
Some of the unusual things I have seen sold in vending machines include rice, fresh produce, eggs, fresh flowers, porno movies, and Penthouse and Playboy magazines. What will they think of next, pets?
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