5 Types Of Unique Vending Machines To Try On Your Vacation To Japan

If you're heading to Japan to see the natural beauty of Mount Fuji in the wintertime, soak in hot springs and spot snow monkeys in Yudanaka, or walk the streets of Osaka tasting all the incredible street food in "Japan's Kitchen," the idea of putting vending machines on your packed itinerary might seem strange. However, vending machines in Japan aren't like the vending machines you may be used to at home. Believe it or not, they're a fascinating slice of Japanese culture.

When you picture a vending machine, you likely imagine some chips, sodas, and maybe a cell phone charger if you're at the airport. In Japan, it's an entire industry worth billions of dollars. As you explore the country, you'll find fresh juice, hot drinks, alcohol, cigarettes, and some truly unusual novelty items available in vending machines.

It might seem strange at first to buy a full meal or a T-shirt from a vending machine, but if you're interested in what the machine has to offer, you should definitely give it a try. The food inside is often a lot better than it seems! Although it might not be the quintessential ideal when you imagine an authentic dining experience on your travels, vending machines are extremely popular in Japan, so you'll be shopping and eating like a local.

Plenty of vending machines around the world offer a variety of bottled fruity drinks. But what about freshly squeezed orange juice? Japan has you covered. You might spot these large, usually orange-colored vending machines as you walk through the Tokyo underground, and believe it or not, for a cup of some fresh vending machine OJ, it's worth missing the next train.

The first of these health-centric vending machines, Feed Me Orange, was popular on social media back in 2021, but now you'll find plenty of them in most major Japanese cities. While the designs of the machines may vary, most of them have a big clear glass panel in the front so that you can watch the fresh oranges tumble down, automatically go through the turning wheels of the juicer, and get squeezed into your cup.

Be warned: The price can seem a bit steep for a single cup (around $4.50 after conversion at the time of this writing), especially considering that the cup likely won't be filled to the very top. Nevertheless, the fresh juice is delicious — and tastes totally different than one you might find in a bottle, can, or carton in other vending machines.

If the cold weather got to you while sightseeing, you might start looking around for a café to buy yourself some hot tea. However, a vending machine is a better alternative for something quicker and a little less expensive. While most are familiar with buying a cold drink from a refrigerated vending machine, travelers may be surprised to find that many vending machines in Japan have a hot section. If the background behind a drink is blue and there's a snowflake next to the button for it, that's a cold drink. If the background is orange or red with a fire symbol next to the button, that's a hot drink — or even a bottle or can of soup.

There are many different varieties of soups available in vending machines, like miso seaweed, red bean, and even hot drinkable baked apple. The most popular, though, is corn. Anyone looking for a tasty, creamy sweet corn soup with actual chunks of corn in it will have a surprising number of brands, varieties, and sizes to choose from at different vending machines. If you're looking for an even tastier soup but don't necessarily need to eat it right away, you might consider looking for a bottled dashi soup stock vending machine. These broth bottles have an entire fish inside for flavor — but you probably should take it to your accommodations and put some noodles and toppings in it, not just drink it straight.

Many of the vending machines you'll spot in Japan are clean, inviting, and convenient — but one collection of rundown machines in Akihabara, Tokyo, is not. This bizarre spot is known as the Horror Vending Machine Corner, Suspicious Vending Machine Corner, or simply Creepy Corner. Inside, you'll certainly find some very unusual things. Just getting to these machines can be a little tricky — but you'll find them on Google Maps as "Weird Vending Machines." You'll have to shuffle through the narrow space between the machines and unfinished-looking wooden walls, which really stand out against the glitz of "Electric Town" Akihabara. Some people come for the creepy ambiance, but you should definitely spend a little pocket change on the unusual offerings inside, too.

There are all kinds of different items inside the vending machines, from canned bread and cookies to toy bugs and mysterious packages wrapped in white paper, taped up by hand, and covered in handwritten notes. Alongside more ordinary prizes, some tourists even spotted strange objects like rotary phones in the machines. Most ominous of all are the stories included with some of the snacks and toys. Many of these stories are not appropriate for children, telling tales of sexual deviance, revenge, and murder. Adults looking for a unique, unsettling experience won't want to miss it.

These machines look a lot like ordinary soda vending machines, but instead of containing fizzy drinks, they sell cans full of whipped cream. In some machines, the cans come with a variety of sweet toppings and even have a little cake at the bottom of the can — but the majority of the can is still fluffy whipped cream. Some may even be dyed in fun colors. Just be prepared; these treats are extremely sweet.

Unlike whipped cream you might buy in a shop, this one doesn't come with a spray nozzle. Although it's technically considered a drink, it's actually very thick. You'll probably need to use the plastic spoon that comes with it to scoop out individual bites — especially if you bought one with candy and cake pieces.

It's not surprising that these cans of cream sometimes come with a little bit of cake because they are often made by Gaku, the same company that makes Japan's most popular canned cakes — which are also worth a try if you see a vending machine selling them. Just make sure to stop and eat standing next to the machine; tourists in Japan often get the side-eye for walking while eating.

There are certainly many ramen places to try around Japan, from the small and traditional to the upscale and luxurious, but if you find yourself heading back to your hotel after a late night exploring the thrilling nightlife adventures in Shibuya, you might just want to grab some vending machine ramen.

For the equivalent of under $6, you can get yourself some noodles in a tasty broth piping hot from the machine. On most machines, all you have to do is select the ramen that looks most appealing to you, tap your card or slot in some coins, and wait for the little door in the machine to open. Your ramen will come in a takeout container, already sealed and ready to bring back to your hotel — or you can just stand there and eat if you're really hungry.

If you're willing to delay the gratification a little, you might want to head to the Maruyama Seimen building in Ota City, Tokyo. The ramen you'll get from this vending machine is frozen, so you'll have to take it somewhere else to heat it up, but it's sure to be delicious.