Tag Archives: vending machines

How Did I Survive Before There Were Standing Cat Toys?

The question isn’t really “Do I really need more gachapon capsule toys?” but “How did I ever communicate without them?” This series may be sold out by the time you’re next in Tokyo, but there will be plenty more to take its place! If you’d like to discover the latest, greatest, gachagacha, a guide to the best gachaponContinue reading “How Did I Survive Before There Were Standing Cat Toys?”

The Shrine Maiden Vending Machine

Are ya feelin’ lucky? Because this vending machine dispenses fortunes, just like the ones you can buy at Japanese shrines! But that’s not all – it’s delivered by a little animatronic shrine maiden, who fetches if from the inner precincts and deposits it in the offering box for your future-divining pleasure. If you’d like toContinue reading “The Shrine Maiden Vending Machine”

The Cat Shaming Vending Machine

How did you guess that the moment I caught a glimpse of this vending machine filled with cat shaming gachagacha, all my laundry coins would be history? There was only one problem… I got the first four before running out of coins, but how could I not come back to try for the mystery cat?Continue reading “The Cat Shaming Vending Machine”

Move Over, Monkeys! See-no Evil, Hear-no-Evil, Speak-no-Evil Cats Are Here

Sticking to the straight and narrow has never been cuter, thanks to these adorable kittycat gacha-gacha toys, and the vending machine that dispenses them on the Yanaka Ginza shopping street. But most of all… This series may be sold out by the time you’re next in Tokyo, but there will be plenty more to takeContinue reading “Move Over, Monkeys! See-no Evil, Hear-no-Evil, Speak-no-Evil Cats Are Here”

The Shiba Inu Vending Machine

Finally! A series of shiba inu gachagacha toys made by an artist who understands that these devilish dogs are not just unbearably adorable, they come packed with a level of eccentric that makes eel-flavored ice cream look like vanilla. This series may be sold out by the time you’re next in Tokyo, but there willContinue reading “The Shiba Inu Vending Machine”

The Fox Wedding Vending Machine

Move over Angry Ghost Cats and Drunken Pets! The Fox Wedding vending machine takes tiny collectible toy obsession to a whole new level. Take my coin purse, foxen! Take all of it! And by the way, if you don’t already have a name for that thing where it rains while the sun is shining, fromContinue reading “The Fox Wedding Vending Machine”

The Host Club Vending Machine

When I first saw this gachapon machine filled with little plastic champagne towers, I thought WAT? Who needs a set of miniature, light-up, host club furniture? I mean, even though it’s pretty happenin’ how they change color and all… …I wasn’t instantly throwing all my money at the coin changer. Until… This series may beContinue reading “The Host Club Vending Machine”

The Drunken Pet Vending Machine

So, today I came home and found THIS. I don’t know what kind of shenanigans YOUR gacha-gacha toys get up to when they’re alone in the house, but… This series may be sold out by the time you’re next in Tokyo, but there will be plenty more to take its place! If you’d like to discover the latest,Continue reading “The Drunken Pet Vending Machine”

The Peeing Statue Vending Machine

It’s always hard to say goodbye to my favorite costumed peeing boy statue when I leave Tokyo, but now I don’t have to! Thanks to the awesome vending machine I discovered at Yodobashi Camera, I can take him home with me and develop a whole new level of procrastination skillz, crafting little costumes for him… But,Continue reading “The Peeing Statue Vending Machine”

It Must Be Fake Peach Flavor Season Again

The vending machines are suddenly stuffed with pink drinks. Of course, there hasn’t been a genuine fuzzy-skinned stone fruit within a thousand kilometers of these so-called “peach” libations, but that doesn’t stop them from making the point that even drinks flavored with highly unnatural chemicals must only appear when they’re “in season” in Japan. •

The Catzilla Vending Machine

Overcome with a burning need for yet more weird plastic toys (hey, don’t pretend this doesn’t happen to you!) I was poking around in my favorite Akihabara gachagacha emporium when I discovered THIS: If you’d like to visit the Akihabara area the next time you’re in Tokyo, visit my website, The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had. And although thisContinue reading “The Catzilla Vending Machine”

The Angry Fox Ghost Vending Machine

I thought I’d reached the highest level of gacha-gacha nirvana when I discovered the Angry Cat Ghost vending machine last year, but yesterday walking through what I’d previously thought of as the ninth-circle-of-hell Shinagawa station, I spied these: YOKAI FOXES! As you can see, they come in six, count ’em SIX, fabulous colors, three with lucky messenger-of-the-gods markings. And yeah, as youContinue reading “The Angry Fox Ghost Vending Machine”

Help, There’s A Hamster In My Drink!

Lately in Japan there’s been an explosion of vending machines selling little characters that perch on the side of your glass, so you never have to drink alone. But none of them has been nearly as cute as HAMSTERS. •

The Angry Cat Ghost Vending Machine

Walking through Shinjuku station today, I discovered I had a burning need for angry cat ghosts. Fortunately, there was a bank of gacha-gacha vending machines smack in the middle of the concourse, ready to cater to all my feline spiritual needs. This series may be sold out by the time you’re next in Tokyo, butContinue reading “The Angry Cat Ghost Vending Machine”

Fall Is When The Vending Machines Change Colors In Japan

Here, you don’t need to go out and commune with nature to know when autumn has arrived – all you have to do is check your corner vending machine to see how many of the cold tea offerings have switched over to hot tea. •

The Statue Of Too Much Liberty

These have got to be the most awesome gacha-gacha vending machine snags of all time! These little plastic figures depict Lady Liberty morphing into “Too-Free Goddess” and assuming unseemly poses! But forget trying to blackmail her with threats to tweet her indiscretions far and wide – there are already stop-action videos up on YouTube… For even more weirdness, there are videos that go withContinue reading “The Statue Of Too Much Liberty”

I Hope You Wanted Marlboros

This vending machine offers you a choice between Marlboros and…Marlboros. It could be a glimpse of some horrible apocalyptic future in which the only beer left on Earth is Miller Light and the only mayo is Miracle Whip, or it could be the latest example of a popular Japanese advertising trend: make the product stand out on the shelf by…buying up all the shelves. This is the first time I’ve seenContinue reading “I Hope You Wanted Marlboros”

Japanese Invent A New Way For VIP Visits To Annoy The Populace

You know how it goes when a VIP comes to town: streets unexpectedly blocked, swarms of shifty-eyed men in dark suits with little curly wires in their ears, cavalcades of unnecessarily long dark cars swanning through the streets? Annoying, right? Well, in Japan, everybody takes the subway, so you’d think these irritating VIP visits would beContinue reading “Japanese Invent A New Way For VIP Visits To Annoy The Populace”

The Fake Sea Slug Vending Machine

“Mommy, mommy, I want a nudibranch! All the other kids have nudibranchs! Pleeeeeze can I have ¥200? Pleeeeeze?” “No. Last time you cried when you got the Bornella anguilla instead of the Chromodoris annai and I had to take you out of the store because everybody thought I was abusing you or something.“ “I won’t cry!Continue reading “The Fake Sea Slug Vending Machine”

Coffin Nails For Lefties

Were the lion of the Cuban Revolución to make a little posthumous visit to Japan from Guerilla Heaven, he might be surprised (and possibly more than a little outraged) to find himself shilling for cigarettes from beyond the grave! At least they’re a nice Marxist red. •

Just Try To Toss Your Round Garbage Into My Square Garbage Bin NOW!

What is with you people?! It says right here, RIGHT ON THE RECYCLING BIN, in the kind of phonetic letters ANY SIX-YEAR-OLD should be able to handle: P A P E R    P A C K Does that say “plastic” to you? Seriously, people, read the sign. This bin is for square paper packsContinue reading “Just Try To Toss Your Round Garbage Into My Square Garbage Bin NOW!”

The Scene Of The Crime

I get to Shibuya Station a little early to meet a friend, and suddenly I’m so hungry I think I’m going to die. Whipping inside the handy Tokyu store, I buy a miniature bag of chocolate cookies to wolf down before my friend arrives. Nom, nom, whew, ravenous feeling assuaged. Oh no, unanticipated pitfall! NowContinue reading “The Scene Of The Crime”

There’s a Fish Fin in My Drink

Finally it’s cold and rainy out, just the season for a swig of hot saké with a smoked, dried blowfish fin floating in it! Hirezake is such a wintertime favorite here in Japan that they sell these single-serving cans in vending machines. But nobody wants to encounter a nasty, soggy fish fin that’s been stewing in theContinue reading “There’s a Fish Fin in My Drink”

Steaming Hot Orange Soda

For your wintertime beverage enjoyment, behold the Hot Orange. At first I figured the distributor was just getting rid of last summer’s overstock, but the packaging definitely says this vending machine offering is not only meant to be drunk steaming hot, it’ll deliver a dose of vitamin C to fend off those pesky winter colds.Continue reading “Steaming Hot Orange Soda”

Yakitori in a Can

If you can’t be bothered to boil water and make your own Cup Noodles, this vending machine’s for you. On offer are curry udon (thick white noodles smothered in curry gravy), all manner of ramen (thin crinkly noodles in pork soup flavored with soy sauce or miso), zōsui (rice gruel with vegetables), chicken yakitori (grilledContinue reading “Yakitori in a Can”

Your One-Stop Shop for Cold Drinks and Heart Defibrillation

I’ve seen AED stations all over Japan (and of course applaud the effort to get emergency equipment into the hands of bystanders so they can help someone having a heart attack) but hmm, this one made me think twice about buying that extra-caffeinated coffee drink… •

Coffee, Tea, or a Shot of Hot Red Beans?

It’s the season when warm drinks reappear in vending machines all over Japan, offering morning jolts of coffee, black tea, cocoa, green tea and…red bean soup? Yes, it’s time for shiruko, that wintertime favorite made from crushed sweet red beans, thinned so it can be slurped from a can in an alleyway on the wayContinue reading “Coffee, Tea, or a Shot of Hot Red Beans?”

The Ur-Vending Machine

I was walking along a little back street in Tama when I came across the great grand-daddy of vending machines: this little neighborhood vegetable hutch. People leave their backyard surplus in the bins and anyone can buy it by dropping ¥100 in the slot marked “Put Money In Here.” I know that there are lots ofContinue reading “The Ur-Vending Machine”