Source: SAM Cheong from N.S., Malaysia (CC by SA 2.0)
American Struggles to Live Solely Off Tokyo’s Vending Machines for 24 Hours
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By now you probably know that Japan is the land of vending machines.
If you thought that convenience stores like 7-11 and Lawson are the most common sight, it’s only because you didn’t account for the estimated 4.9 million vending machines spread out across Japan.
According to USA Today, The United States has a little more than 4.6 million units, despite being 26 times bigger than Japan.
Train stations, parking lots, in front of temples and public baths…yeah it’s safe to say you’ll find them pretty much anywhere.
Unless…
The Mission
Back in 2019, an American producer at Buzzfeed, Q(thatsjustq), set out to see if he could live off Tokyo’s vending machines for 24 hours.
Just search for “weird vending machines in Japan” on Google or YouTube and the results are endless. From the ordinary drink machines to flower baskets, all the way to puppies…well, not really…
Six of the Strangest Vending Machines in Japan
Anyways, Q heard about all the wonderful vending machines and shared his adventure for all to see.
Living On Tokyo Vending Machines For 24 Hours
Q started his journey at 9 am, and all he managed over the next 8 hours was some coffee, Pocari Sweat, ana a can of onion soup. Things weren’t looking good for Q.
He finally found some canned oden in Akihabara and things picked up for him when he found both a popcorn vendor and umbrella machine.
But the highlight of his day came when he finally found the jackpot; a vending machine with hot dogs, burgers, and French fries.
Unfortunately for Q, it was out of order…
In the end, he didn’t thrive, but he made do with his ice cream and umbrella, just glad to survive the day.
Just as a final note and disclaimer, although this video has been trending on Twitter lately and was posted on YouTube in June 2020, it was filmed in 2019 before the outbreak of Covid-19.