Vending Machines & Honor Boxes

It's autumn in Tokyo and that means the city's many vending machines just got a tiny bit more awesome than they already are.

Photo by CHENJILIAN on Unsplash.

In Japan, autumn is signaled by the gradual -and then everywhere all at once- appearance of yaki-imo (sweet potato), and to a lesser extent, chestnut flavored everything. I ❤️ sweet potatoes so this is a welcome development but there is another, more subtle late autumn tradition that I have come to look forward to in Tokyo.

When the days grow shorter and temperatures drop, Japan’s many, many vending machines turn on the heat and hot bottled tea and even hot soup in a can with a screw-top lid can be had for a handful of loose change! (Or you can pay by mobile app, transportation card, paper money, in some locations you can write out a check with a fancy feathered pen j/k - but you get the point, the transaction could not be simpler.) This tiny seasonal change makes me inordinately happy. I cannot begin to describe the simple pleasure that is an inexpensive bottle of hot tea when out and about on a cold day.

Vending machines are a defining features of Tokyo. Any given sidewalk boasts up to half a dozen or more lined up side by side. Otherwise you’ll find them tucked away in ones or twos in the most unlikely spaces. Whereas a trashcan is common on every street corner in most major cities in the States, in Tokyo you can’t walk more than one city block without passing at least one vending machine - conversely, you’ll be hard pressed to find a trashcan.*

I cannot begin to describe the simple pleasure that is an inexpensive bottle of hot tea when out and about on a cold day.

Low crime rates and low vandalism coupled with the ease at which any business and any individual can apply to have one installed on their property make them ubiquitous. They are an easy form of passive income. The vending machine company delivers, restocks, repairs and services them for a fee of course. Covered recycling bins are often paired right beside them and most folks don’t litter.

Though beverages are the most common salable good, there are machines for ice cream, cigarettes, alcohol, fresh fruits and vegetables, bowls of hot ramen or gyoza from vending machines akin to old-fashioned automats, entire pizzas, toys, electronics and sundries. Recently I came across a machine selling bottles of dashi with an entire bonito fish suspended within. It boggles the mind that there can be so much food around and so little of the detritus that generally accompanies it on the streets and surrounding areas. Vending machines are the definition of convenient, and fast self-service.

And yet there is another self-serve, fast and convenient way to purchase things that far surpasses the vending machine experience. In small communities on the outskirts of big cities, you may be lucky enough to happen upon an unattended stand with a hand-lettered price list and an honor system payment box. These sorts of stands will forever and always have my heart.

In Japan, I have purchased fragrant mikan, gorgeous hulled chestnuts and once an entire beautiful and perfect chiffon cake all at unattended posts. Hyper local produce is generally superior in quality to what can be had at a grocery store and without the markup of a storefront, asking prices often seem criminally low (which gives you an opportunity to feel good, do good and eat good by being generous and overpaying if you can afford to do so.) Similar to a vending machine, there is no interaction with another human being at an unattended roadside stand, but participating in the honor system just hits different. The fact that the seller presumes your trustworthiness and then having the opportunity to act on that expectation by doing the right thing, feels good.

Honor system payment is hardly unique to Japan. I’ve purchased fruit, jam and honey from farm stands with honor system forms of payment across the US in New York, Massachusetts, Virginia and California and it’s rare I’ll pass one without stopping no matter where I am in the world. Participating in a small transaction based on trust and good faith is a tiny reminder of the inherent goodness that I believe is within us all. Couple that feeling with a sip of hot tea on a brisk autumn day and for a moment, at least, all is well in the world. That’s all for now. See you in two weeks.

*The Sarin Gas Attack in 1995 resulted in the removal of nearly all public-use trash bins in Tokyo and yet the overall cleanliness of the city defies the astonishing lack of trash receptacles even 30 years later.

A Few Things:

• Autumn in the United States means pumpkin spice latte season. 💀

• Over on the Work/Craft/Life newsletter, I learned about amazing librarian Araba Maze who is working to eradicate book deserts in Baltimore, Maryland. She is actively developing free book vending machines. Book. Vending. Machines!

• Chiffon cake is a kissing cousin of angel food cake. It’s popular in Japan and easy to make. Here’s a recipe. (Also any excuse to say kēki, the Japanese word for cake, pronounced cake-ee makes me smile. 😁)

• About the honor system Deborah Franklin writes, “Though the trusting business model certainly isn't crime-proof, honor boxes remain a point of nostalgic pride and practicality for a number of small farmers...”

• Finally, an absolute non sequitur, but you need to check out S.S. Rajamouli’s film RRR (short for Rise, Roar, Revolt). The epic anti-colonial action drama set in 1920’s India is a bromance filled with melodramatic twists, over-the-top action sequences, fight choreography and an intense dance-off. And lots of singing too! Never have I ever witnessed on-screen smolder the likes of which co-lead Ram Charan is serving. Now, I have to go back and watch everything he and co-lead Jr. NTR have ever done in the past. It is delirious, pop-corn at the movies fun. It’s in theaters and on Netflix.

ICYMI:

Newsletter No. 19 was a nostalgic look at Halloween in NYC during the late ‘70s and ‘80s. Despite the urban myths of razor blades and poison-laced candy, for me the holiday is imbued with a spirit of creativity that I still appreciate today.

On Halloween

Reminders:

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TELL ME:

Do you think folks can be trusted with honor system payment transactions? Have you ever participated in one before? Let’s talk about it in the comments. 💸