Vending Machines in Asia

Vending machines at home at so boring compared to vending machines in Asia.  Outside of snacks and drinks, I’ve seen vending machines selling umbrellas, underwear, books, hot foods, and on my latest trip to Japan, I saw machines selling travel insurance.  And who can forget the vending machines that line the outside of noodle restaurants, where you put in your coins, choose the noodle dish you want and then bring the receipt inside to the host?

I’ve often wondered if some of these vending machines make money.  For example, you’d think that umbrella vending machines would only ever be useful on rainy days.  Isn’t it a bit of a waste to have them on sunny days?

Perhaps with the high population of Asian cities, these vending machines only need to be somewhat successful to make enough money to survive.

Another question I have is how often these machines are maintained?  The ones selling books and umbrellas you probably only need someone to restock them once in a while, but what about the ones selling hot foods?  These must have either some sort of refrigeration system or an oven inside.  Although I’d imagine it to be pretty dangerous to have an oven running 24/7.

All in all, I love seeing all of the neat vending machines whenever I’m in Asia.