With over 5,520,000 vending machines in Japan, that equals to about one for every 23 people in the country. They are everywhere you would expect; on busy city streets, near supermarkets and petrol stations. But you'll also find them way off the beaten path, far out into the countryside and in some of the most random places, as 9Travel discovered during a recent visit to the Kii Peninsula, in the south of Japan.
Here are just a few we came across (in some surprising places). Rengejo-in Temple in Koyasan is close to 1000 years old, but guests staying in the unique accommodation still have access to drinks from a vending machine in the hall. We had a delicious lunch at Shojoshin-in Temple in Koyasan and saw this vending machine at one of the entrances.
It's even been designed to 'blend in'. Kinpusen-ji Temple in Yoshino didn't have a vending machine inside, or at the front entrance, but there was still one located close by on the temple grounds. Even the famous Nara deer can find a vending machine just about anywhere around the popular travel destination they call home.
Even driving along stretches of road seemingly in the middle of nowhere, you'll find well-used vending machines dotted for people getting thirsty on their trip. Ancient town, check, rice field, check, vending machine, check. This one was spotted in Asuka.
Walking through the streets of Nara, we came across a few lucky residents who have access to vending machines literally at their front door. Another lucky (or unlucky depending on how you look at it) homeowner in Naramachi, Nara. Even when there is a supermarket store, there is often a vending machine right next door as well.
Like this one in Asuka. We worked out quickly that we'd always find toilets and a vending machine wherever we went. Bins, though, seemed harder to locate.
Same goes for bus stops. Vending machines weren't just available for road users, but also for those catching public transport. Even in smaller towns, there were vending machines dotted around car parks.
Here we were entering the Amakashi-no-Oka Area in Asuka Historical National Government Park, and there were still vending machines. On a busy street in the middle of the popular district of Shibuya City, Tokyo is where vending machines make sense! And there are vending machines for almost anything. Including, for making your own freshly-squeezed juice.
9Travel was a guest of the Tourism Exchange Japan..
