Hot Vending Machines

Any visitor to Japan will immediately see that there are vending machines of all kinds everywhere. Not just sodas, but beer, cigarettes, batteries, condoms, and, especially, coffee. Canned coffees are everywhere.

But a visitor who travels on the highway is certain to find among the Coca Cola, Fanta, and Pocari Sweat machines, a curious coffee machine, equipped with an embedded video. It seems a bit odd, since the machine doesn't show cans, but paper cups, not unlike Starbucks or Doutor.

Looking closer, one finds that the machine boasts not just coffee, but cappuccino. mocha, latte, iced coffees, and a whole bunch of other options. What's this machine?

This machine is one of a few that actually brews a fresh cup of coffee. I really like the coffee served by the vending machine above, indicated by the #1. I've seen these at many of the parking and service areas operated by the Japanese highway agency, NEXCO.

Here is a video of this machine in action:
http://youtu.be/UOr2OGAyRTU

This one is my favorite machine. The cappuccino with cinnamon is very good! (Sorry about the finger that gets shot briefly. The aisle isn't so big and I bumped into someone walking behind me.)

I put up on another video on YouTube (below) that shows another brewing machine. There is a photograph of it, too (#2).
http://youtu.be/foHfAP41-PE

Perhaps one of the most impressive features of these machines is that they even put on the lid to the coffee automatically. I forgot to take a photo of this, but it can be seen in the video.

The coffee tastes great, too. After all, it is freshly brewed, one cup at a time!