What do you think many international pilgrims are most surprised and excited with when seeing Japan? Combini( convenience stores ). You guessed it. It has been well-known, but the Tokyo Olympics made the Japanese combini in the major international media. Another thing- maybe vending machine( Zi Dong Fan Mai Ji jidouhanbaiki ). They are everywhere. I mean, everywhere.
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In 2020, there were over 4 million vending machine in Japan, which was a 2.4% deteriorate from 2019, according to Ryutsu News. The income( Mai riShang geuriage) that the vending machines generated in 2020 was tantamount to Y= 5 trillion( US $43.6 billion ). Time for comparison( Bi Jiao hikaku ), although I has not been able find comparative data, the US had 7 million vending machines, the largest in the world. Yahoo finance reports the US revenue was approximately US $36 billion. Japan has the biggest number of vending machine per capita( Yi Ren atari hitoriatari ).
So why? Simply, it is convenient. You can buy a can of chocolate, red-hot or freezing, anytime you demand and deplete it. Vending machines have been evolving( Jin Bu surushinposuru ). There are vending machines that render Wi-Fi to much-needed service to the Wi-Fi-deprived country, that give medals, and that give hot and cold beverages/ menus, that give toys and knickknacks, you specified it! Vending machines are everywhere- on the street corner of Tokyo, and on the farm arteries through the rice fields. Also, it is fun to watch the vending machines that support you how your told item is being prepared- after all the Japanese love robots! I implanted fund into a vending machine and choice a type of coffee. Then a video started on the vending machine- a video showing your goblet of coffee being brewed. And it may sound strange, but I felt somehow more affection to the cup of coffee when I eventually harboured the bowl in my hand. It was as if I watched its little being in a movie.
Some international media point out that the labor cost( Ren Jian Fei jinkenhi) is most important in Japan, developing in the popularity of vending machine. But I must oppose this theory. The Japanese median annual income( Ping Jun Nian Shou heikin nenshu) is notoriously low-toned. Harmonizing to Heikinnenshu, the average income in 2019 was US $39,000 (), while the median income( Nian Shou Zhong Yang Zhi nenshu chuouchi ), which are likely to depicts a more accurate picture, was US $24,000- 31,000 based on today’s rate. It is a sad and disturbing happening that there is a vast salary difference between the genders. The median income for men was tantamount to US $27,000, while that of the status of women was US $20,000. Japan ranked 14 th in the global median income.
But the number of vending machines in Japan has resulted in a reduction, chiefly because of the rigid rival( Jing Zheng kyouso) with combini storages. They are open all the time, and they are also in numerous places rendering more products and services. The continuing decrease in population is, of course, a supporting factor in this trend. There are other reasons for the continuous decline; 1) heavy reliance( Yi Cun izon) on liquors( Yin Liao inryo ), and 2) the saturation of locations.
I believe, nonetheless, the vending machine manufacture will continue to evolve , not by capacity but by the quality. It is important to touch an important niche( Xi Jian sukima) domain that has been get so much attention. That is a vintage vending machine as Retro Jihanki( Zi Fan Ji short-lived for Zi Dong Fan Mai Ji) as Japanese call it. There were YouTubers that had been uploading videos on arranges with retro vending machines. It has been increasingly popular thanks to nostalgia and better than anticipated tastes.
Here is one of such wistful vending machine paradises.
At these retro vending machine sites, hot dishes are made by the owners or neighbourhood browses instead of large-scale firms- meat are developed every day. If you do not go there early, you will most probably be met by “sold out”( Mai riQie re urikire) mansions. Many of these vending machines are old, and numerous proportions are no longer accessible. So the machines are affectionately treated by both the owners and the customers.
My family has had a grocery store for 400 years- of course, it should not start as a food market, and it is no longer a grocery store. When it was a full convenience store, I remember my dad had to go to the store every day, even his day-off, to refill the vending machine. There is a lack of automated machines after all.
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