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All about street vending machine in Japan. price, type of drinks. Do they sell cake? -Travel tips in Japan

   

How nice if I can choose a variety of drinks from the cheap vending machines.

Yes, it is possible here in Japan.


In this article, I'm explaining

  • the vending machine in Japan and how to use it
  • drinks you can buy
  • price of the drinks 
  • the interesting thing about vending machines in Japan


Let's jump into it!


Vending Machine in Japan


So this is what vending machine in Japan looks like.

This one is right in front of my place, so I could take some pictures of it.


Vending machine in Japan is just so awesome and convenient.


There are two types of vending machines in Japan which are 

  • pre-canned/bottled type 
  • brew type


and in this article, I'm writing about pre-canned/bottled-type vending machines.


Vending Machine in Japan



I will start with the price.

The price of the drink differs but the price range is always between 50 yen to 150 yen if you are using the standard vending machine.


100 yen, 110 yen, and 150 yen are the most popular price that I see.


The payment method is usually coins or 1,000 yen bank notes but these days we see a lot of vending machines accepting cashless payments.


It really depends; some are cash-only, some are cash & cashless both available.


If the vending machine you are trying to use accepts cashless payment, the method would be

  • Suica (Japan domestic prepaid IC card)
  • alipay (Chinese cashless payment)
  • WeChat pay (Chinese cashless payment)


If you see this kind of tap area, you can use the Suica.


I will explain more about Suica in a different article because it is so useful to have during your stay.


The drinks they sell are beverage only, so you are not able to purchase alcohol from a vending machine.

This is to prevent underage alcohol purchases.


How to use the vending machine in Japan


First, you want to decide what you are going to buy.

What you see quite often are 

  • water
  • green tea (non-sweeten)
  • sweeten tea
  • canned black coffee
  • canned sweetened cafe latte
  • energy drink
  • sport drink



↑canned black coffee. very Japanese. You gotta try it out.



When you know what to buy, insert the coins/bank notes first.

If you are using the cashless type vending machine, you push the button first and touch the cashless card after that.


This is the confusing part but be calm my friend.

↑I think you see the button for each beverage.


If you want to insert 1,000 yen bank notes, you want to open the cover as below.

The one with the letter 1,000. Alright???


↑This is what most vending machine looks like, so you can find the letter 1,000 easily.


For instance, you insert 1,000 yen bank notes and you purchase 100 yen water.

If you want to finish your purchase, you have to pull down the orange lever to get the change.


The change will come out from here.

You need to open the little window.



Vending machine in Japan is so trustable since it rarely causes error.


When I was living in the United States, and Taiwan, vending machines there just ate my coins and it happens pretty often right?


But I've never experienced it with the Japanese one.


Don't worry. Be happy.


By the way, as written in the article Seven Eleven coffee in japan. 100 yen coffee in Japan is absolutely amazing., you can access very tasty coffee 24/7 in Japan.


Isn't it just amazing?...

Going to seven eleven may be the alternative if you do not find the vending machine close to you.


Do they sell cakes as well!?



Yes, they do (OMG JAPAN...)


Here, the Japanese blogger writes about it so please refer to the article about canned-cake purchases from vending machines.


You do not see that often in the city, so if you want to experience it, you have to google it beforehand.


I think trying vending machines in Japan is one of the most interesting experiences, so please leave a comment if you have tried them out or if you have any questions about this topic.

Thanks for reading and have a safe trip to Japan.