Category: Culture

5 Interesting Japanese Vending Machines

Japan is known for having some straight up wacky vending machines, but they’re not all insane. Here’s five vending machines you can find in Japan that will have you shaking out your pockets for change.

いただきます！

For the uninitiated, Japan is known for having an abundance of vending machines containing everything from snacks and coffee to towels and eggs. Odd? Sure. But these machines are an interesting part of Japanese culture and a fun topic to explore. Here are 5 of the most interesting Japanese vending machines you could come across on a trip to Japan.

Photo by Hector Garcia on ageekinjapan

Flying Fish Soup

Dashi Doraku, also known as flying fish soup is a machine that vends little fishes in a bottle of broth to pour over your noodles. It may seem a little odd at first, but these little fish help to give an authentic ramen-shop experience to your cheap 100円 shop ramen. The Dashi Doraku vending machines started in Hiroshima but have since begun popping up elsewhere as their popularity grew.

Photo by Brian Merchant on Treehugger

Lettuce

The Chef’s Farm machine produces 60 heads of lettuce per day without any sunlight! Using 40-watt fluorescent lightbulbs, these little powerhouses produce your veggies day in and day out using only artificial light. The seeds are put into the machine’s trays manually by the workers who service them, but the little enclosed garden does the rest!

Photo by Mami Suzuki on Tofugu

Eggs

Your random hankering for never-ending eggs is quenched with this vending machine! Farm fresh eggs are categorized into conveniently priced bundles depending on quantity and size. With this machine you would only need to make a short walk to the machine. This is of course assuming you live in a small farming community as that’s where these machines are usually found.

Photo by take_freedom on Instagram

Pizza

Ever wanted a fresh pizza but didn’t want to deal with the human aspect involved? Here the machine lets you choose all your topping options just the way you like it and it handles the rest. It kneads and spreads the dough, adds the toppings, and bakes it right there in the machine. It’s like heaven in a box!

Photo by Yukiko Yanagida on Pinterest

Hot Menu Vending Machine

Nothing is more convenient than frozen meals. They’re quick, sometimes mostly healthy, and convenient. All you need to do is pop them in the microwave and out comes a meal. This machine spits out similarly styled meals for cheap! Not really sure if we needed a vending machine to make microwave meals for us but it’s the idea itself that makes this vending machine interesting.

Don’t these fun and interesting vending machines make you want to travel to Japan all the more? Definitely add some of these to your travel plan if you’re heading out soon, you surely won’t be disappointed!

5 Japanese Rock Bands To Listen To

Has your phone run dry with new music? Spotify and Pandora getting boring? Looking to spice up your Japanese learning with some music out of Japan? Here’s 5 bands with large catalogues you can bite into!

Looking to jam to some new tunes? You’ve come to the right place! Here’s 5 rock Japanese rock bands you should add to your playlist this summer!

ONE OK ROCK

One OK Rock, is a Japanese rock band, formed in Tokyo, Japan in 2005. Playing a wide range of music from Pop-Rock, Pop-Punk, Alternative, Emo, and Post-Hardcore you should be able to find something that tickles your fancy. This band is first on the list because they mix a lot of English into their lyrics, so you’ll be able to belt out some lines along with the band even if you’re a complete beginner to the language!

キュウソネコカミ(KYUSO NEKOKAMI)

Kyuso Nekokami is a punk rock band that formed in 2009. They play energetic, fun music you can bounce around to. Even if you don’t much like “punk” music I recommend you give this band a try due to the humorous music videos and happy-go-lucky attitude they exude. This group is an absolute riot you won’t regret checking out. 

BLUE ENCOUNT

Blue Encount is a rock band that formed in 2004. They’re one of those bands that continuously releases music that would fit happily as an opening or ending theme for a tv show or anime. It’s really impressive and they can’t be recommended enough if you want some straight up hard rock music. 

MRS. GREEN APPLE

Mrs. Green Apple is a rock band from Tokyo. These boys (and their kick-ass female drummer) are so fun to listen to. Turn on any of their songs and you’ll find yourself immediately smiling as the songs are all really poppy and melodic. They just look like they’re having so much fun doing what they love. Even though their genre is listed as “rock” they incorporate a lot of “pop” and “electronica” into their music, give it a try!

THE ORAL CIGARETTES

The Oral Cigarettes is a four-member alternative rock band from Nara Prefecture, formed in July 2010. A big name in Japan, The Oral Cigarettes dominate the alternative rock scene. Their hooks will stay in your head while you’re trying to remember your vocabulary words. Have fun humming their songs till you fall asleep tonight! 

Hopefully you found a band or two to add to your playlist! You can find all of them on Youtube and Apple Music. It’s also worth noting that a lot of them put up their lyrics in Japanese on Apple Music so you can follow along as the song plays.