Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Vending Machines, No. 5

There have been mild rumblings and protestations to get a better look at what's inside these vending machines. What manner of product is offered by these sentinels of the streets and, more deeply, what are the inner processes that allow for the convenient and timely delivery of such a wide variety of tasty beverages?

The pictures below should give the viewer a pretty good idea about what's generally available in a typical Japanese vending machine (click to enlarge). As to the inner workings of the vending machines themselves, I'm afraid that's a closely guarded secret, but please, don't believe everything you read [*]...





Proof that the Japanese are more civilized than most: vending machines that sell beer.


[*] This is the type of thing that typically passes as "foreign reporting" on Japan in the New York Times. It's a complete pile of bullshit, like just about everything else written in Western newspapers about Japan. Readers of the NY Times might well be wondering how the Japanese are capable of renewed imperialistic ambitions when they're so stricken by fear of each other that they've taken to hiding themselves in "vending machines". Give me a fucking break... If you're really interested in this "story" you might find it more useful to look here and here.

6 comments:

  1. after that intro I am afraid to go looking, here and here.

    Like the variety of shapes in top one.
    Beverages look most intersting to me in second one.
    Assuming by design harmony, third one is beer.

    Enjoying beverages, now wish to see snacks.

    (you are taking requests, right?)

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  2. Ooh! Thank you! And I've just remembered, talking of crime, why we have so few vending machines here - they'd get stolen!
    I guess, at this point I will have to accept that you are not going to show me pictures of the small imps who operate these machines. Right?

    As for the media - The press are something else, more often than not they write better fiction than us fiction writers!

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  3. Taffiny,
    Sorry, but this series is devoted only to machines which dispense drinks. Besides, it's not really about the machines themselves, anyway... (the true subject is in plain sight in every shot... except in this post).

    AV,
    In over 9 years I've only seen one vandalized vending machine in Miyazaki. It's pretty amazing, really.

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  4. Oh all right, I surrender to art, and let go my childish desire to see pretty little rows of goodies.

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  5. Even the beverages seem to be arranged in the way they look best.
    Beer in a vending machine? That's every Mexican man's fondest dream!

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  6. Usual Stuff,
    That's every man's fondest dream...

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