Japan (19) - Vending Machines

17 July 2010 - One of the things that always surprise me in Japan is the number of vending machines in the country. They seem to be everywhere: in stations, in the hotel, on the streets and in the back streets. Most machines accept bills and give back change, and I have already met a few machines that talked to me. In Japanese - so that did not help. Lots of things can be bought from the machines: coffee (cold and hot), soft drinks, snacks, candy, but also flowers, umbrella's and batteries. Amazingly, cigarettes are also sold practically everywhere, and I read that until recently beer and rice wine was also sold in the machines, but underage drinking got out of control (it seems Japanese do not mind underage smoking?). I also read there are vending machines that are blank by day, but light up at night: selling pornographic comics. I would love to find one!