Recently when I was talking a walk through the neighborhood, I found a vending machine which sold batteries! I’m not sure if this is a common type of vending machine, although seeing as though Japan is the land of vending machines, it may be.  But the first thought that came to my mind was, does anyone really buy the batteries from the machine?  It looks like when you put your money in, nothing will come back in return.

Japan is full of funny vending machines.  The vending machines have become very computerized lately.  Recently I saw a huge vending machine where the sample drinks were actually a computer screen and every few minutes or so it would flash an advertisement and then go back to looking like sample drinks!  I also saw one where the screen of the computer panel was broken and it just flashed computer code across the screen, HAHA.  I wonder if I could get a free drink from that one?

However, one of the most fun things about these different vending machines is the different types of drinks that they carry.  They also carry soups! If you go to Akihabara Station, there is one that carries ODEN which is a traditional winter stew in Japan (with many different ingredients from which you can choose).  Stew in a can! I sort of want to try it but then again it’s a little scary so I’ve never tried it.  I think I’d rather buy it at the convenience store (the place where it is widely sold) because then at least I can pick what ingredients are in it… With a can, who knows what’s in there! Ew!

In other news, it was a hot, humid day today… so I think I’ll go buy a drink.