A vending machine is a machine that offers items such as snacks, drinks, cigarettes and lottery tickets for sale around the clock.
The first modern vending machine was developed in the 1880s and sold postcards. Nowadays, you probably have the most frequent contact with ticket vending machines in everyday life.
One country where vending machines are indispensable is Japan. There they are now part of the cityscape. You can find them not only at the train station or at sights, but also in normal neighborhoods or in remote places.
Cigarettes, ice cream, sake, soups or snacks are offered for sale. But the most common are vending machines. Most of them are equipped with an assortment from one of the big manufacturers, such as Kirin, Coca-Cola or Suntory.
A special feature, compared to many other countries, is that hot drinks are also sold in bottles or cans. For 100 to 150 Yen one gets then a warm coffee or tea that one pays with cash or a contactless payment card, Suica or Pasmo.
The warm drinks are marked with red color, blue is a chilled drink. There are many variations in the design of the appearance life. There are vending machines with Pokemon or the mascot of the city.
Another place for vending machines are restaurants. They are usually positioned in front of or in the entrance area of the restaurant and are used to place orders. After the input and the payment you usually get a slip of paper with which you take a seat in the restaurant and then you get your order. In more modern restaurants and chains this is now digital and you order on a touch screen and the order is forwarded directly to the kitchen.
