Vending Machines Around the World that Japanese People Find Surprising · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

“Here's a vending machine in a mall for buying Likes for your Instagram pics.” — Alexey Kovalev, Global Voices Russia Editor. Image courtesy Vasily Sonkin.
Deserved or not, Japan has long had a reputation for being the home of weird and wacky vending machines. What is not as commonly understood, however, is what Japanese people think about vending machines in other countries.
One member of Naver Matome, a popular Japanese blogging site, decided to find out. In an post titled “Vending Machines That Even Japanese People Are Surprised By” (日本人もびびる) — which has been viewed several hundred thousand times already — vortexxx collected a series of images posted by Japanese Twitter users.
The first photo of a remarkable vending machine (at least from a Japanese point of view) is from Hitoki Nakagawa, the Vladivostok bureau chief for Asahi Shimbun, a well respected daily newspaper. The machine in his photo sells ultra-expensive caviar:
ウラジオストクに帰るため、モスクワのシェレメチボ空港にいます。気づいたのですが、キャビアの自動販売機が。今日は品切れでしたが高いもので20000ルーブル。今のレートでも4万円以上。猫には食べられませんが、こんな高額品をここで買うかな pic.twitter.com/fqnMrRSd6z
— 中川仁樹 Hitoki NAKAGAWA (@HitokiNAKAGAWA) January 1, 2015
I'm at Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow on my way back to Vladivostok. And what's before me but a caviar vending machine. While it's sold out today, there is one super expensive kind worth 20,000 rubles, which based on today's exchange rate is about 40,000 yen (about US$400). While I'd never feed it to a cat, I wonder if anyone ever buys such luxury goods here.
Caviar vending machines seemed to spark interest among many Japanese social media users. Here, someone else found a machine that sold slightly cheaper products:
モスクワの空港でキャビアの自販機発見。1番安いので2000ルーブル、日本円で4000円。直径5~6センチの小さいやつ。
1番大きのは直径10センチくらい？値段は高すぎて忘れた(´Д` )
買わずに撮影しただけw pic.twitter.com/MBO4YIW3QG
— 小越なつえ (@ogonatsu) September 25, 2016
A caviar vending machine at the airport in Moscow. The cheapest variety costs 2,000 rubles, about 4,000 yen (approximately US$40). The cans are small, only 5-6 centimeters in diameter. How much for the biggest can, about ten centimeters across? I forget the price, it was too expensive. (´Д` )
I didn't buy anything, just snapped a photo.
Some Japanese travelers also noticed vending machines selling patriotic Russian kitsch:
Sheremetyevoのヘヴィーユーザーの私がオススメするこの空港のスポット
「プーチン大統領のTシャツの自販機」 pic.twitter.com/LbtgMgZmm8
— マルーン (@maroondqx) January 10, 2017
As a heavy user of Sheremetyevo airport I recommend checking out the ‘President Putin T-Shirt vending machine’.
Others remarked on how practical some of the vending machines were:
ロシア…24時間スーパーの自販機で使い捨てコンタクト売ってるの便利すぎますわ… pic.twitter.com/KC2ye8wX48
— kirin? (@kirin6273) April 20, 2017
In Russia, there's a vending machine in a 24-hour supermarket that sells contact lenses… Super useful!
The most noteworthy vending machine of all was one that sold space food:
モスクワの空港で発見。宇宙食の自販機。「ボルシチ」、「肉とソバの実」、ドライフルーツのコンポート」などのチューブ入り宇宙食が400ルーブル（＝約800円）でした。#ロシア　#モスクワ　#宇宙食　#ボルシチ pic.twitter.com/LveGhsPLWo
— miki karasawa (@mikikparis) April 3, 2017
I discovered this at the airport in Moscow. A ‘space food vending machine’ that sells borscht, beef and buckwheat soup, dried fruit kompot and other foods sold in a tube as space food for 400 rubles.
The Naver Matome blog post also collected a few Twitter posts of other vending machines around the world that Japanese travelers found interesting. One vending machine in Germany sold Lego:
LEGOの自販機だって！ドイツいいなぁ〜(*☻-☻*) pic.twitter.com/usigjHaq
— 恵美 (@aqua__aqua) January 25, 2013
A Lego vending machine! Germany is awesome! (*☻-☻*)
Another, in Italy, provoked pangs of hunger:
イタリアにあるピザ自動販売機のピザ食べたい。
これは鬼アツ pic.twitter.com/GjnyLRvE4m
— むんご (@ikaretamungo) March 21, 2016
Here's a pizza vending machine in Italy! Now I want to eat pizza!
One of the most unusual vending machines, which a Japanese Twitter user observed in the United States, sells something that can only be bought in certain places in the country: pot.
アメリカのシアトル市に設置された医療用マリファナを販売する自動販売機。お値段1ドルからhttp://t.co/EKIuSljKku pic.twitter.com/yORTjM3IRY
— さいたま (@saitamakita) February 19, 2015
A medical marijuana vending machine in Seattle. Prices start from $1
More vending machines from around the world can be found at Naver Matome.