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> Now the hot canned coffee wasn't actually good (I had to try it) You just have to find the one type of can that doesn't have added sugar or milk. Once you kn

> Now the hot canned coffee wasn't actually good (I had to try it) You just have to find the one type of can that doesn't have added sugar or milk. Once you know those nothing beats pulling a warm can of black coffee from the machine. Really, the first company to introduce these on stations here in the Netherlands (or anywhere these don't exist) will turn a handsome profit if they stick to the Japanese formula for 自動販売機: small cans, low prices, decent selection, warm coffee, and located on train platforms. The novelty factor of the warm cans will take care of initial promotion. But leave out that one warm corn drink.

masklinn 7y ago
> Once you know those nothing beats pulling a warm can of black coffee from the machine. I'd say pulling a bottle of warm lemon / lime tea was even better, especially with travel-sore-throat. > low prices Aside from providing warm drinks, that's the big ticket right there: IME, european vending machines are basically predatory, they're way overpriced for what they provide and rely on necessity or impulse rather than just doing good business. Japanese vending machines are omnipresent, well-stocked, with good selection of useful stuff, but more importantly you don't feel like you're throwing money down the drain when you're buying from one. The prices are obviously higher than in a 'mart, but they're not "$5 for a bottle of coke" overpriced.
- Kurtz79 7y ago
  "Aside from providing warm drinks, that's the big ticket right there: IME, european vending machines are basically predatory, they're way overpriced for what they provide and rely on necessity or impulse rather than just doing good business." Absolutely agree: I don't remember the last time I bought something from a public vending machine (or even seeing someone else doing so) here in Spain. Prices are anywhere between 2/3 times the price you would buy at a supermarket, an Airport shop kind of markup: whatever you get tastes bad as you feel swindled. When I was in Japan it was rare if I didn't get something from a machine any given day.
  - Freak_NL 7y ago
    It affects my behaviour as a consumer. In Europe I tend to purchase snacks and lunch in supermarkets or convenience stores at the bigger stations before travelling (but rarely those on the platforms because of the prices). In Japan, I just get it from any convenience store (including those inside the gates) or the vending machines without a second thought.
  - irq11 7y ago
    Believe it or not, but even in Japan, vending machine prices are 2-3x what you’ll pay in a supermarket. You just don’t notice it as much because prices are low in general. A supermarket can coffee will cost maybe 60-100円 for what you pay 120-200円 in a vending machine.
    - CydeWeys 7y ago
      I didn't find that to be true to such a degree. I was tracking the prices of vending machines pretty closely in Japan, and if you didn't jump at the first one you saw and waited until a more out of the way one, you could typically find almost anything in the 100-120 yen range. My favorites were the "100 yen special" machines where most or all items were 100 yen. The prices were in large red lettering to emphasize the deal. Prices could go up to 160 yen or higher in the vending machines in tourist areas, especially the ones inside ticketed attractions. 100-120 yen was around the price you'd pay for those same drinks in a convenience or grocery store, with the only exception being bottled water. You can find bottled water much more cheaply in the grocery stores than anywhere else, well under half the price by volume. This is a pretty universal rule of travel that I've found holds true everywhere.
      - irq11 7y ago
        Those 100 yen machines are rare. I lived in Kyoto, and can recall seeing only one in the city. People would go out of their way to use it. More typically, you will see machines that have 120円 prices by reducing sizes. Buy the same drink in the conbini next door, and you’d get twice the volume. Regardless, if you’re in a place where vending machine prices are lower than usual, it only means that the store prices are lower still. There’s no magic here; the vending machine operators are making a healthy profit.
agent008t 7y ago
Are you kidding? The warm vending machine corn soup is the best thing in winter!
- Freak_NL 7y ago
  I guess it's an acquired taste — and this is coming from someone who feels a nattō sandwich is a great way to start the day when in Japan¹. 1: The fermented beans compensate for the lousy fibreless bread, and it sure beats rice for breakfast. The mustard is a must-have though.
  - agent008t 7y ago
    Natto is awesome too! I am sure any aversion to it is purely psychological, it’s delicious!
CydeWeys 7y ago
I did get the black coffee can, and it wasn't good. I usually drink coffee black, but that's only when it's freshly made; I tend that I actually tend to prefer the premixed kinds that come with milk in them. There's just something about being brewed potentially months ago, and then kept at an elevated temperature for many days, all the time in an aluminum can, that doesn't lead to good tastes. It tasted metallic. And interestingly, it was actually hard to hold (and even open) at first, because it was hot, being an uninsulated aluminum can that was in a heater. It wasn't until a few minutes later that I could even hold it firmly in one hand without having to juggle it around a lot.

masklinn 7y ago

> Once you know those nothing beats pulling a warm can of black coffee from the machine. I'd say pulling a bottle of warm lemon / lime tea was even better, especially with travel-sore-throat. > low prices Aside from providing warm drinks, that's the big ticket right there: IME, european vending machines are basically predatory, they're way overpriced for what they provide and rely on necessity or impulse rather than just doing good business. Japanese vending machines are omnipresent, well-stocked, with good selection of useful stuff, but more importantly you don't feel like you're throwing money down the drain when you're buying from one. The prices are obviously higher than in a 'mart, but they're not "$5 for a bottle of coke" overpriced.

Kurtz79 7y ago
"Aside from providing warm drinks, that's the big ticket right there: IME, european vending machines are basically predatory, they're way overpriced for what they provide and rely on necessity or impulse rather than just doing good business." Absolutely agree: I don't remember the last time I bought something from a public vending machine (or even seeing someone else doing so) here in Spain. Prices are anywhere between 2/3 times the price you would buy at a supermarket, an Airport shop kind of markup: whatever you get tastes bad as you feel swindled. When I was in Japan it was rare if I didn't get something from a machine any given day.
- Freak_NL 7y ago
  It affects my behaviour as a consumer. In Europe I tend to purchase snacks and lunch in supermarkets or convenience stores at the bigger stations before travelling (but rarely those on the platforms because of the prices). In Japan, I just get it from any convenience store (including those inside the gates) or the vending machines without a second thought.
- irq11 7y ago
  Believe it or not, but even in Japan, vending machine prices are 2-3x what you’ll pay in a supermarket. You just don’t notice it as much because prices are low in general. A supermarket can coffee will cost maybe 60-100円 for what you pay 120-200円 in a vending machine.
  - CydeWeys 7y ago
    I didn't find that to be true to such a degree. I was tracking the prices of vending machines pretty closely in Japan, and if you didn't jump at the first one you saw and waited until a more out of the way one, you could typically find almost anything in the 100-120 yen range. My favorites were the "100 yen special" machines where most or all items were 100 yen. The prices were in large red lettering to emphasize the deal. Prices could go up to 160 yen or higher in the vending machines in tourist areas, especially the ones inside ticketed attractions. 100-120 yen was around the price you'd pay for those same drinks in a convenience or grocery store, with the only exception being bottled water. You can find bottled water much more cheaply in the grocery stores than anywhere else, well under half the price by volume. This is a pretty universal rule of travel that I've found holds true everywhere.
    - irq11 7y ago
      Those 100 yen machines are rare. I lived in Kyoto, and can recall seeing only one in the city. People would go out of their way to use it. More typically, you will see machines that have 120円 prices by reducing sizes. Buy the same drink in the conbini next door, and you’d get twice the volume. Regardless, if you’re in a place where vending machine prices are lower than usual, it only means that the store prices are lower still. There’s no magic here; the vending machine operators are making a healthy profit.

agent008t 7y ago

Are you kidding? The warm vending machine corn soup is the best thing in winter!

Freak_NL 7y ago
I guess it's an acquired taste — and this is coming from someone who feels a nattō sandwich is a great way to start the day when in Japan¹. 1: The fermented beans compensate for the lousy fibreless bread, and it sure beats rice for breakfast. The mustard is a must-have though.
- agent008t 7y ago
  Natto is awesome too! I am sure any aversion to it is purely psychological, it’s delicious!

CydeWeys 7y ago

I did get the black coffee can, and it wasn't good. I usually drink coffee black, but that's only when it's freshly made; I tend that I actually tend to prefer the premixed kinds that come with milk in them. There's just something about being brewed potentially months ago, and then kept at an elevated temperature for many days, all the time in an aluminum can, that doesn't lead to good tastes. It tasted metallic. And interestingly, it was actually hard to hold (and even open) at first, because it was hot, being an uninsulated aluminum can that was in a heater. It wasn't until a few minutes later that I could even hold it firmly in one hand without having to juggle it around a lot.