Japanese vending machines: the cutting edge of merchandising … and on the brink of irrelevance?
Media reports focusing on Japan's quirky vending machine culture dive into what new items are on offer and the risk they face due to competition from convenience stores.
Vending machines help ease access to COVID-19 tests in Japan
Seven machines, each holding about 60 PCR testing kits have been set up around the greater Tokyo area.
Disposable diapers, baby wet wipes and canned liquid formula are now increasingly being offered in locations around the country.
Roger Dahl on Japan's vending machines
Cooled masks sold in Japan's vending machines prove a hit in pandemic
Masks are helping struggling knitwear company earn revenue while bringing a bit of happiness to the people purchasing them.
Japan to OK sales of duty-free goods in vending machines amid labor crunch
The government is ready to approve a plan to sell duty-free goods in vending machines to address Japan's labor shortage, especially in areas outside of big cities, government sources said Monday. Duty-free items such as cosmetics, character goods and watches will be sold in vending ...
Want a piping hot pizza any time you feel like one? So did truck driver Yoshiharu Taniguchi, who craved freshly made Italian pies when he worked long nights. His solution: hunt for a pizza vending machine. He tracked down an Italian company that manufactured them, ...
Osaka's ¥1 sales energize shoppers but not good for BOJ's inflation quest
Osaka is famed for it's cheap prices, with ¥1 supermarket sales, ¥10 drinks and discount train tickets sold right next to the station. That attracts thrifty consumers and tourists, but may be undercutting the central bank's efforts to generate sustained price rises. "If it's not ...
Uniqlo installs clothing vending machines in U.S. airports, malls
Japanese casual clothing chain operator Uniqlo Co. has been placing vending machines in airports and malls in U.S. cities, offering two of its most popular items. The company has installed five of the so-called "Uniqlo to Go" machines since Aug. 2, including one at California's ...
Gachapon: Tracing the evolution of Japan's colorful toy capsules
Where else but Japan could you buy a miniature version of Edvard Munch's "The Scream" figure crouching over a squat toilet, horror-struck? It's one of thousands of ingeniously designed trinkets you can buy for a pittance from toy machines across the nation. They're subversive, ...
In a change from chocolates and fizzy drinks, the French are starting to offer fresh oysters from vending machines in the hope of selling more of the delicacy outside business hours. One pioneer is Tony Berthelot, an oyster farmer whose automatic dispenser of live oysters ...
