If you grab into it it will always... see if you push it...
the cap is on the left hand side so when you pull it up, it will always stand up!
The vending machines in okinawa capture the sound of that specific bird
Oh that's eight... eight... seven seven ?
Hey guys and girls on Ask Japanese this is CathyCat, did you know that japan has
the highest density of vending machines in the world, meaning
they have 5 million vending machines
that's approximately a vending machine for every 25 to 26 people if you think about that that's a lot.
But there are not only drinks, they are the most craziest
types of vending machines here
You can get almost everything out of vending machines
From ice cream vending machines, to toy
vending machines, ramen and udon vending machines there is
a reason why japan is called the vending machine country.
So today we are gonna feature and cover some vending machine trivia
that you will not have heard before so let's go
(Let's Start!)
When did you think the very first drinks vending machine appeared in Japan?
It was actually in 1961... and guess who did them?
These guys here
coca-cola had their own glass vending machines so actually you
would get a glass bottle out of the vending machine with a drink
and then in 1967 they were also the first ones to have them canned drinks
in the vending machines so
a can of coca-cola instead of a glass
(N-E-X-T)
Did you know that vending machines actually have a design
that is aimed towards people who are right-handed
i know right i didn't know that until we looked it up...
now if you go now to a vending machine to get yourself a drink.... first of all
the paying part everything is on the right
so you can enter your coin here let's do this right now
and when you push the button here...
What will always happen... if you grab into it.... you can test this
maybe in your vending machines at home it's the same. If you grab into it
it will always be... if you push it... the cap is on the left hand side so when you pull it up
it will always stand up
you won't get it out like this
if you're right-handed you get it out like that
i didn't know that until i realized that all vending machines in japan are like that
so when you just grab it with your right
hand and pull it up you're bound to have it right way up. Fascinating
Vending machines can also function as rescuers and saviors of people
and nature... apparently some of the vending machine companies
are encouraging their workers when they
go around to refill the machines to keep an eye open! They contribute to
the city security by for example calling rescue services
or if they see anything suspicious happening:
calling the police, similar things like that.
Now think abou:t it some of these
vending machines are in not so populated areas maybe in some
alleyways.... so the gentleman who might be refilling your drink might already have
rescued someone by doing a vital phone call to maybe rescue services
or the police before! So next time you see one of those vending machine guys
refilling your vending machine, give them a smile!
Not only the guys refilling the machines
but also the machines themselves are contributing a lot
F or example one of them is they're helping out with nature
here in Japan. On the Okinawa islands there is a bird called
"Yambarukuina" meaning the "island bird" now unfortunately this one
is about to die out, it's on the red list of endangered creatures
but what the vending machines in Okinawa are specifically designed to do is
capture the sound of that specific bird so people who research that bird know
where the bird is what it is doing what kind of mating call it is doing
so they can study and hopefully help that bird and prevent it from dying out.
And that's what the machines are doing there.
Now you might want to know.... do vending machines actually make money?
You know it's just between 100 yen and 200 yen
actually in 2016 two trillion yen were made.
That's the same as 263 Pewdiepie revenues per year...
Now that's the income for all the vending machines of japan
however how is it just one vending machine?
Now the average of one vending machine's income
in J apan is 1.1 million yen... that's however the average
meaning a vending machine out here on the countryside
where barely any people are walking past will obviously
make a very different revenue from a vending machine that's in Tokyo or in a
big city near a station or in an area where loads
of people will go past
maybe in a resting spot ...that will differ
so depending on where that vending machine is placed
that money can roll in!
What would you have to do to become a proud vending machine owner?
Well there are several steps but one and the most important is
that you have space space that you legally
can build a vending machine on because you need space for people to walk past
to actually find your vending machine now either you
go and contact one of the vending machine
companies or sometimes these companies actually
spot good locations and talk people into saying
"hey that might be a good spot for a vending machine there"
and that's where it all starts.
From there on the owner has to give up a little bit of space
and the electricity is what the owner is paying
but the machine, the vending machine itself is generally lent from the company
so they rent it from whichever company they want to support
at that time. Now if a drink is 100-120 yen which is
like the average in bigger cities
how much does an owner actually make for
his drink that just got sold?
Depending on the machine company and drink
10% up to 20% for each drink comes back.
So let's have a look at this... so for example 120 yen is the average price
so 20 of that would be 24 yen
that's the profit of the owner.
All the maintenance will be
handled by the vending machine company so the owners don't have to do anything
just give up a little bit of land and pay the electricity that's it and the
money can keep rolling in...
if your vending machine is in a good
spot a vending machine can earn from 100,000 yen to 200,000 yen which is
like a thousand dollar, two thousand dollars if they are in a popular spot
so that's revenue that comes in by just standing there
You can also get your own vending machine second hand
if you so wanted to. A vending machine second hand
can go from 100,000 which is hundred thousand yen to
even one million yen... and a brand new vending machine starts at one million yen
O MO TE NA SHI
is a word that became very popular in japan and it means: hospitality
and Japanese hospitality you can also feel in their vending machines
How? Let me tell you how! When a drink is sold out it will say
"urikire" the actual button which means you can't push it anymore it says "sold out"
Sold out... but... Guess what? It's actually not sold out
There's exactly one drink in there and it's waiting....
The reason for that being is ... once the staff comes to restock it
... they come and they bring the cart and they will fill in the drinks to fill up the machine
and the idea is that that one drink that has been waiting...
will come to the front and it will be cold for the very first customer
.. who buys this drink again. A ll the other ones will then generally have time to
cool but that very first drink will still be nice and cold even though
the vending machine just got restocked.
Now that's some Omotenashi that.
Now that's some omotenashi guys.
Now that's some Omotenashi guys!!!!
Some vending machines are also built to save lives and to help out people
One is... you will sometimes see a sticker on some vending machines
that say "Once there is a really big earthquake, they will dispense
the drinks for free...
Meaning... if there's a big earthquake loads of people will need water and access to liquids
and those vending machines will have a trigger, it will open
and there will be drinks coming out. Not all of them though...
But what many vending machines also have is a sticker on the machine
that shows where you are ....so in case you get lost
and you find a vending machine that might just be your place!
For example you're somewhere in the fields you have your tires broken and
you need to phone rescue services go to the vending machine see if it has
a sticker and find out where you are and people might be able to come and
help you
"Hello hello? I got lost!!!"
"There are no signs indicating where I could be!"
But on the vending machine here it says....
Saitama, XY city in XY street.
Could you come and save me? SAVEME!
Oome of the most recent vending machines even have
an electric panel, like a screen, that will display rescue services
and similar, in case of an emergency. So the more advanced the vending machines are
the more cool gimmicks and gadgets they have
while still protecting people or making sure that the neighborhood is safe
Generally the smallest amount of coin currency that Japan's vending machines
will accept are 10 yen pieces... not 1 yen not 5 yen
however there seems to be a limit on how many coins a vending machine will
accept from one customer....
and it's said to be 20 coins and i want to test that out so.....
let's try and fill this machine up and see if that's true
We went specifically to a store where we can buy (exchange) those coins
so let's see ....
we had to get them all changed first...
Okay 21 pieces let's see when the machine tells us to stop
ready?
one two three
four five seven eight nine ten eleven
twelve thirteen....
more and more of the lights are litting up because i can buy those now...
fifteen sixteen seventeen eighteen nineteen...
20. Let's see... this one should be the last one, is it gonna get accepted yes or no?
Oh it accepted it!!!HAH!
Now we're surprised ...so that kind of destroys our theory director!
Three more... oh no...
There's no limit!!! You can fill this one up ohh!
oh we reached the limit on this one!
Huh, 23 is the limit on this one here!
Director: "Try it once more."
Nooooo
Okay well we need to try this out one more time, so let's try it out on this machine
Maybe it's just the other machine this is like a most common one here, coca-cola
20... and now this should be the final one 21..
Oh director....
Okay come here, come come on, come on come on come on!!!!
NO!!!
Stop eating it!!!
*HISS*
Our theory has failed...... failed
failed
With Japanese vending machines you might also get lucky
Some vending machines have a lucky lottery attached to it like this one down here
You'll see a symbol if you get all
sevens in a row you get one extra drink.
And japan actually has a law against unjustified promotions meaning
...they have to have at least a max of two percent chance of winning
which means if you're lucky after 50, buying 50 drinks you might get a free drink
it hasn't really happened much to me...
it happened only once to me in all my years in Japan
But i'm gonna try it now anyways let's try it
And we're gonna go okay ...we're going to get a melon latte ...you ready?
Oh that's eights... eights... seven... seven....
Seven!? Seven ....three oh
In the scorching heat of Japanese summers they are a lifesaver
and in winter when they have nice and hot drinks coming out of the vending
machines, they keep you nice and cozy while you're waiting for the train on a
cold platform. I must say i enjoy playing "the vending machine game"
which i call it... when i go and i just get myself that
really nice hot drink on my walk to work... it keeps my hands warm
and my tummy and in summer those cooling
drinks definitely have saved me through the very hot and humid summers here.
Now what is your favorite vending machine drink you've seen so far
on this channel? Be sure to check out we have a whole playlist of random quirky
weird and creative drinks that we spotted in Tokyo
so if you would like to see us test some
of those and try them out be sure to check out the playlist
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I hope you enjoyed this special... i hope you enjoyed this special feature
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(English subtitles by Ask Japanese)