picture of the day

Vending machine

40 Comments

A young girl demonstrates an emergency phone installed in a vending machine in Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture. The vending machine, which also has a surveillance camera, was vandalized this week. Police said the words “surveillance society” was scrawled on the vending machine. According to police, the machine's electric cable was cut and the camera lens painted black.

© Japan Today

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.


40 Comments
Login to comment

I've had the vending machine eat my money and also the vending machine dudes to reimburse me at a fixed time the following day. Fortunately I was attending the trade show at Makuhari everyday.

I've also won a free drink twice in a row in the same vending machine.

The vending machine near my house speaks to you and tries to coerce you into buying an ice-cream.

Most new hi-tech vending machines already have a 24 hour PHS connection monitoring sales, temperature, theft and in an emergency like an earthquake will release all the drinks for free.

Personally I don't see why they need to install a actual hand held phone. You just need an obvious looking red emergency button that you have to punch and a microphone with built in camera. If it works for trains, elevators, intercoms (secom), ATM's, etc then people should be accustomed to it.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Why does a machine operated by a private corporation have a public surveillance camera?!? I would paint the lens black too. Then set up my own camera inside Coca-Cola's headquarters office.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I could just imagine if the phone dails 119 for you.

119 operate - Hello, how can a help? Person - Someone stole my money 119 operate - where are you calling from? Person - the coke machine 119 - which coke machine? Person - The one that is out of aquarius 119 - How much money did the steal? Person - 500yen 119 - What did the person look like? Person - To be honest I dropped it and it rolled under the machine.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Sarge,I only intended to have a little bit of fun comment.Of course those vending machines in Japan are all very reliable not like some in Australia but I did not have experience of 3 for the price of 1;you are a lucky man if you are only buy water .

0 ( +0 / -0 )

tclh - In all my years in Japan, I have yet to be robbed by a vending machine, as opposed to the bandits in the States! I have, however, been blessed by a certain drink machine that gave me three drinks for the price of one - several times!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Good idea and the white phone would show dirt much better than the black phones. I rarely use a pay phone because of dirt and germs so I probably would not use one from a vending machine even a white one.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

To reply to some of the above comments- I have never had a Japanese drink vending machine take my money and not give me a drink in return- have you?

They are very small- young woman is stretching it a bit as she looks about 9.

And to the person who says only buy water, not sugary carbonated drinks- may I buy green tea? How about canned coffee?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

how about installing defibrillators

0 ( +0 / -0 )

? what a non-topic...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

"Help! Help! A boy fed his fish too much!"

Moderator: Back on topic please.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Alright one more.

Leave the siren, Leave the camera, but replace the phone with a boxing glove on a spring.

So if you select any of those unhealthy sugary sweet drinks instead of a nice healthy bottle of water. The siren goes off, the door opens up, and WHAM! right in the nutz. Then the camera takes your picture and they show it on one of these crazy Japanese television shows. You know like the show where people stick tissue paper up their nose to see who looks cool while sneezing.

Writing this and visualizing this scenario, I almost wet myself laughing.

I'm ready to live in Japan for another year now.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Can I call my mum if I get lost?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Emergency phone? That is a good idea. Pay phones are quickly disappearing and cell phones can be lost, stolen or broken. Even if it is a ploy from the companies, it is still a good idea.

A camera in the machine? I have the urge to cut the machine's electric cable, paint the lens black, and scrawl the words "surveillance society" on the machine. But maybe that is just me? --Cirroc

0 ( +0 / -0 )

moshi moshi ,keisatsu desu ka,hen na jido hanbaiki took all my money and nothing came out!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

is that machine really big or are they really small?

hello, is that the emergency phone service?.. yep. the machine is out of hot can coffee

0 ( +0 / -0 )

classic comments! lol

0 ( +0 / -0 )

They need to put a little red siren and emergency phone on every kid in Japan.

Alright I stopping now.

It's just too easy

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I dig the little red siren on top of the vending machine.

Gotta Luv this country

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Realist,

No, they will put an emergency phone in the toilet stalls!

They will then use the phones after they notice that someone has already put "A camera inside a toilet to see what comes out of us".

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Why would any sane person or government want to put an emergency phone, or a video camera, on a drinks machine? The mind boggles. What next? A camera inside a toilet to see what comes out of us?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Seriously, though... this sounds like a lame attempt by softdrink companies to get MORE vending machines installed in remote locations. Next Japan Tobacco will announce similar security measures in its vending machines and ask that they be put in and around elementary school grounds so children can use the... errr... emergency devices if they see a stranger lurking nearby; and they get a free pack for their troubles!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

"HURRY UP AND REFILL THE GREEN TEA!!!"

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Is the crime rate really that high in Japan or is it an example of over spending on public amenities?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Actually, an emergency phone would be quite handy if the vending machine falls on you after shaking it too hard.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Some sick Jguys Plan:

Take the guts out of the vending machine. Get rid of the phone. Get inside the gutted vending machine. Cut a little hole where the phone used to be (to put a little something in). Install his own camera. Have somebody scare the little girls when they walk by the emergency phone vending machine. Start my own little freaky vending machine website.
0 ( +0 / -0 )

My guess is that the phone won't do you any good when the drink machine eats your money?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

who is the phone connected to? Some dude that lives inside the machine? Or to the soft drink police?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Now Pepsi will have to follow so they don't feel out done.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

so, I can call them with "dude, you`re all out of coke"?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Just buy only water from the machines when you really need to quench your thirst on the street and leave all the sugar, carbonated soft drinks alone ;they are bad for your teeth.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

young woman? look more like 2 kids. what is next an emergency phine installed in a UFO machine or in a game machine?????

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Vending Fun: lesson 1

buy a Ultraman or you favorite mask find a vending machine with a phone make prank calls while wearing the mask
0 ( +0 / -0 )

I think the emergency phone isn't a bad idea. If the camera was activated only when the phone was picked up then I wouldn't mind the camera.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Everyone has a mobile phone why would you need this machine besides trying to identify the people trying to buy the drinks... it's a scam.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I'm surprised more of these machines aren't vandalized, although I haven't seen any of them in my Tokyo neighborhood.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

They're gonna get a lot of footage of oyajis taking a leak against the side.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

A young woman demonstrates an emergency phone installed in a vending machine in Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture

Yeah work that phone baby.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Get lost Coca Cola. I don't give you permission to photograph me.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I'll take two Cokes and one Aquarius. And one Soken Bicha, so I can grow up looking like a woman.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

So arrest the little punks already.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites