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The
Ubiquitous Vending Machine: Linda Choi Hasunuma If you want to buy flowers, ice cream, or toilet
paper, you would think of going to the florist or supermarket, wouldn't
you? But in Japan, you buy these items from vending machines, or as the
Japanese call them: jido-hanbaiki. You can find
vending machines and walls of vending machines throughout the nation in
both the cities and the countryside. Most likely you will find one that
dispenses beverages, but In the US, vending machines are usually reserved for inexpensive snacks and beverages. But in Japan, you can even purchase gifts and other more expensive items that you would not expect like pearl jewelry at some locations. Vending machines generated a total of $53.28 billion in 1999 (3). Even though about half of the vending sales come from beverages like the slender chilled canned teas and the immensely popular sweetened coffees, adult items like alcoholic drinks, cigarettes and pornographic magazines are sold by vending machines as well. This is quite a contrast with the US where these items are usually placed behind a counter in a restricted section or require proof of age for purchase. A generation ago, Americans could also buy cigarettes from vending machines at restaurants, bars, and stores; smoke in office buildings, restaurants, theaters and even on airplanes, but our country phased out these machines in the 1990s as the dangers of smoking became better understood. Japan is still a smoking culture and one has to wonder how much the convenience of cigarette vending machines contributes to this. The legal drinking age is 21 in the US and retailers "card" customers regularly before selling or serving drinks to prevent underage drinking; for cigarettes, you must be 18 years of age. In Japan, however, the legal drinking and smoking age in 20. Since, minors can and do easily purchase things like beer and cigarettes from these machines, some merchants voluntarily imposed a ban on selling alcohol in machines due to growing concerns about underage drinking (4). However, without a mandatory nationwide ban, how effective could this really be? There are reports that high school students drink once or twice a month (4). So, why are they ubiquitous? Well, think of Japan's very high population density, and the severe lack of space (not to mention it's commercialism!) Without the room to store groceries, more frequent shopping trips become necessary. The Japanese tend to do more daily shopping for their groceries by foot, or by bicycle. Cars are expensive to own, register and park, so you see more two wheelers on the streets with baskets for carrying groceries. Compare this to the US where we usually go once a week or so to a supermarket or price club and store our week's supply of groceries in our larger refrigerators and cupboards. Space is also an issue for the proprietors. Local merchants can make money outside of their small shop by having vending machines outside on the street. Plus, with virtually no problems with vandalism, this further contributes to the low risk and profitability of these machines. These unmanned machines eliminate the need for a human clerk to warm up the food or ring the register, so may also be more economically efficient.
* Jido means automatic, hanbai means vending, and ki is machine. (Cigarette vending machine would be "tabaco no jido-hanbaiki"; one for beverages would be nomimono jido-hanbaiki). Sources:
Picture credits:
For photos of vending machines visit:
Linda Choi Hasunuma is a graduate student studying political science at UCLA.
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The Teaching about Japan website is
edited by Clayton Dube. © 2001 UCLA Center for East Asian Studies |
maybe there is one that sells some of the following unexpected items:
batteries, toiletries, meals, videos, magazines, condoms, cds and even
beef! Why go to the grocery store, drugstore, noodle shop, coffee shop, or
newsstand? Just go to a machine and throw in a bill or two. You can even
get your blood pressure checked. What will they think of next? (
One
of my Japanese friends believes that the vending machines of today are the
refreshment stalls of yesterday. Historically, refreshment stalls would
appear whenever there were festivals or other crowds as vendors saw a
quick money making opportunity. However, the first official vending
machine in Japan was made of wood in 1904 and dispensed postage stamps and
postcards. Yet, it was not until the minting of 100 yen coins in 1967 that
vending machines grew in popularity. Now, there is 1 for every 23 people
and the array of items one can buy from these machines increases with
technological advances