Surveying my options at the vending machine on Court Street ' the one near Copeland Hall that costs only one dollar for a refreshing beverage of my choice ' I feel this deep, inner desire for something warm to drink. The day is unseasonably cold. Yet, every choice displayed before me is of the cold variety. I suppose if I really want a warm beverage, I would be better off going into a coffee shop. This would not be the case in Japan. Alongside the cold cans and bottles of water, energy drinks and the occasional pop would be hot cans of coffee and tea. Actually, I would probably find chilled coffee and tea as well. Vending machines, while seemingly unchanging throughout the world, are just like any other aspect of marketing in that they are highly influenced by culture. The beverages offered in a Japanese vending machine are a good example. It would seem strange in America to have coffee and tea readily available in every vending machine. Furthermore, we would never dream in America of having alcohol in a vending machine, but the Japanese do just that. Glass bottles of beer and the occasional bottle of sake ' traditional Japanese rice wine ' are not uncommonly found in vending machines in the land of the rising sun.
Like those in America, vending machines in Japan also provide more than just drinks. Where we might find bags of chips or cookies or candy in our vending machines, they can find cups of instant Ramen noodles, condoms and even cigarettes. Despite the fact that Japan has laws about not smoking or drinking until the age of 20, you might guess from looking at a vending machine just how well those laws are enforced. To be fair, though, just before I left Japan, I saw a news story about a registration system for adults to buy special cards for purchasing cigarettes out of vending machines. Obviously this is an effort to keep underage people from buying cigarettes, but I do not think there have been similar efforts dealing with the alcohol.
More than just offering extensive choices, vending machines in Japan are really about efficiency and convenience ' something of which I believe the United States could use more. In America, we see vending machines more often in buildings and particularly on university campuses. When I mentioned above the vending machine on Court Street, you probably knew which one I meant even before I clarified myself because there are so few vending machines outside. In Japan, one cannot walk or even drive anywhere without seeing vending machines right and left. Vending machines are frequently so much more visible in Japan that I had several Japanese friends ask me if America had any vending machines at all. I can only guess that all the images they had ever seen in movies or photographs did not show vending machines, something that is apparently inconceivable to a Japanese person.
I would say the average pedestrian passes a group of vending machines every 100 meters in Japan. It is pretty convenient when one is traveling somewhere in a hurry, even for drivers. I cannot say this is a common occurrence in Japan, but I once saw a driver pull his car up next to a vending machine, make his purchase and drive away without ever leaving his vehicle.
Of course, Japan has its share of indoor vending machines, as well. Cafeterias and some restaurants use them as a method of ordering food. Love hotels and public bathhouses use them as a method of choosing the desired services. Basically, vending machines facilitate quick service in some places and make other services available where a person cannot be. I would never suggest America adopt the use of vending machines the way Japan has; we do not need some of those products in our vending machines, nor do we need so many of them to clutter the sidewalks. However, today I was really in the mood for a hot can of coffee.
17 Archives
Jennifer Musser
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