Photo: Twitter/@matsujun5213
lifestyle

Japanese convenience store’s love letter vending machine proves they really do sell everything

12 Comments
By Casey Baseel, SoraNews24

The thing that makes Japanese convenience stores great is how they’re really like a compact grocery store, take-out restaurant, and general store all rolled into one. Particularly in rural communities where they might be the only shop in the neighborhood, they need to be stocked with everything someone could need, like food, toiletries, and in the case of one Nagano Prefecture convenience store, even love.

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On a visit to Lake Kizaki in the town of Omachi, Japanese Twitter user @matsujun5213 stopped at the local branch of the Y Shop convenience store chain. The store has a short row of vending machines in its parking lot, for customers who don’t want to bother coming in or arrive after the store is closed for the day. In addition to canned coffees, soups, and sodas, though, the machine also sells love letters.

▼ The button for love letters (LOVE レター) is on the top row, third from the right.

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While this isn’t the only vending machine in Japan that offers love letters, it does have a unique distinction in that the letters are offered in the same machine alongside other more mundane products. The previous love letter vending machines we’ve seen have been capsule toy machines that sell love letters only, usually as part of a bank of other machines selling novelty goods. The Lake Kizaki Y Shop, though, just has them mixed in with the rest of its vending machine lineup, in case someone is craving both a lemon squash soda and a love letter.

The letters come rolled up with a sticker seal, making them look authentically like something someone might leave on your school desk or cafe table. They’re handwritten too, and unrolling his, @matsujun5213 found a surprisingly emotional message.

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“They really put a lot of effort into this,” @matsujun5213 tweets about the bittersweet story he purchased for 300 yen.

While the concept of a love letter vending machine might seem like something you’d only find in Tokyo’s Akihabara or another otaku-oriented neighborhood, Omachi does have a sentimental anime connection, as the Lake Kizaki area served as the model for the setting of romantic comedy "Please Teacher/Onegai Teacher." Though the anime TV series ended all the way back in 2002, the Lake Kizaki Y Shop still remembers the town’s five minutes of anime fame, and a corner of the store remains dedicated to "Please Teacher" and its sequel spin-off "Please Twins."

The impetus for the love letter vending machine, though, isn’t necessarily anime-related. The store’s owner simply thought “Getting a love letter makes people happy, and I thought it’d be nice if we could give people that feeling,” and mentions that a workshop of writers composes them.

The Lake Kizaki Y Shop started selling the letters three years ago, and @matsujun5213 stopped by the store specifically to buy one. Unfortunately, on the day he arrived the machine was being repaired. When he went inside to ask about the letters, though, he was able to purchase one directly from the staff, showing that even when things look bleak, you should always believe in love.

Shop information

Y Shop / Yショップニシ

Address: Nagano-ken, Omachi-shi, Uminokuchi 12076

長野県大町市平海ノ口12076

Source: Twitter/@matsujun5213, J-Town Net via Livedoor News via Otakomu

Read more stories from SoraNews24.

-- Some of Japan’s most iconic vending machines will soon be no more

-- We caved in to curiosity and bought a mystery box from a strange vending machine in Akihabara

-- Japanese origami vending machine makes news around the country

© SoraNews24

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

12 Comments
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The store’s owner simply thought “Getting a love letter makes people happy, and I thought it’d be nice if we could give people that feeling,” and mentions that a workshop of writers composes them.

More proof that you can sell anything to someone.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

This is an example of sheer desperation and an example that you can sell anything to anyone. Supply and demand. And it's the demand that gives the whole thing its sad framework.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

This is pretty cool! A more sophisticated version of greeting cards.

A very clever idea!

0 ( +2 / -2 )

For those of us who can't read Japanese, it would have been nice to see a translation here, just because we're curious about the content......

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Can’t be bothered to translate it all - it’s basically a lot of maudlin fluff, and not very well written - but one bit near the end caught my eye.

たくさん幸せにしてもらってから、

今度は来世で私が幸せにしたいのです。

You’ve made me so happy, now it’s my turn; I want to make you happy in the afterlife.

Creepy.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

How to Woo a Japanese woman ,My dearest Sweetest Japanese Princess,who took the stars from the skies and put them in your beautiful eyes,you are beautiful ,you are beautiful ,you are ,as i admire your beauty from afar

1 ( +1 / -0 )

cleo:

たくさん幸せにしてもらってから、

今度は来世で私が幸せにしたいのです。

You’ve made me so happy, now it’s my turn; I want to make you happy in the afterlife.

Creepy.

You did not get it.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Thanks Yrral, was that it !!

I guess I was hoping for something a bit more inspirational......

0 ( +0 / -0 )

You did not get it.

I don't want it...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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