Japan: the land of vending machines

Vending machine in train station in Kyoto

What is the ratio of vending machines to Japanese citizens?  I think it's 1:1.  You can't turn around without bumping into one.  By week's end, I was smitten with these ubiquitous machines. As you put in your money, selections that match your price point light up.  And everything is color coded.  In the machine Samuel is using, the cold drinks have blue buttons, the hot drinks have red buttons. So thoughtful.

But how do they card you? 

Sure, you've got your cold and hot drinks in the same machine, but you've also got bento boxes, ice cream, and beer.  Yep, beer.  See photographic proof above.

Samuel tries his luck at a Gachapon machine

A subspecies of the vending machine is the Gachapon machine, which dispenses a seemingly unlimited variety of toys, figurines, and good luck charms.  For a mere Y200 - Y500 ($2-5) you too can own a manga geegaw.  You don't know what you're going to get when you turn the knob, and you definitely know you don't need whatever it is, but you can't help yourself.    

Another subspecies of the vending machine (not pictured) is what I call the Ramen order-o-rama.  After paying and selecting your desired ramen noodles from the Ramen order machine, you take your ticket to the adjacent restaurant, sit at the counter, and with usual Japanese efficiency, you are speedily presented with your hot bowl of noodles, exactly as ordered.  Take that McDonald's.