JAPANESE SNAPSHOTS – #16 – DRINK UP

Wherever we went in Tokyo, on virtually every street, there were colorful vending machines, selling chilled water, sodas, juices, hot coffee and tea, hot soup, beer, sake, food, candy, and cigarettes.  They were EVERYWHERE!

And believe it or not, the machines that served hot and cold coffee were better than most coffee shops in America.  The Japanese are connoisseurs of fine coffee and will not accept anything but the best, even when it is dispensed from a vending machine on the street.

They also have beer machines, filled with Japan’s finest frosty beverages, and you really can’t beat that.  It was a real bonus at the end of the day, after walking many miles, to buy a cold beer wherever we happened to stop and then sit at a shrine, taking in the wondrous sights.  It was like being at the ballgame.

The average soda or bottle of water costs about 140 yen.  The exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen is about 100 to 1.  Meaning, a cold drink costs about $1.40, which is very reasonable.  And a beer costs about 240 yen.

According to a recent article in Business Insider magazine, “At slightly over 5 million nationwide, Japan has the highest density of vending machines worldwide. There is approximately 1 vending machine per every 23 people, according to the Japan Vending Machine Manufacturers Association. Annual sales total more than $60 billion.

But why?   Why are the Japanese so into their vending machines?  Economists and sociologists have come up the following five reasons that all relate to the cost of doing business:

1.  The cost of labor is high and machines reduce costs.
2.  Real estate is exorbitantly expensive and the machines take up little space.
3.  Crime is non-existent, so the machines won’t get vandalized.
4.  Japan is a cash-based society, so it’s fast and easy.
5. The Japanese love automation and are happy to be served by machines.

Inna and I love to walk.  During our stay in Japan, we averaged eight miles a day.  And having drink machines on every corner was really convenient.  It meant we didn’t have to carry days packs to hold our bottles of water.  And they were always refreshingly cold.  At the touch of a button.  Only in Japan.