JP Trip Tip: Our Fave Drinks Off the Vendo

They weren't joking. Vendo machines are EVERYWHERE in Japan. You haven't even walked two meters yet and you'll see another machine standing at the corner.

I am not a big fan of the VMs. I'm your practical basic bitch who tries not to spend so much when travelling (except for when I'm shopping; that's another story). Allen (the husband) was my opposite when it comes to these machines. This was a usual scenario when we were in Japan:

Allen: Saglit lang ha. Babalik ako agad.
Me: *stands and waits; silently judging*
Allen: *returns with another bottle he got from the vendo*

I tried a couple of times to get what I thought was going to be a refreshing cola or a delicious café au lait but damn, I was always wrong. I once got a black coffee so strong I wasn't able to get a good night's sleep. So I decided we'd leave the vendo-ing to Allen. He always got them right.

The average cost of the items from a vendo is JPY130 (around Php60). But in some areas especially those outside the major cities like Tokyo and Osaka, that same 130yen item would cost just 100 or even 80.

Here are some tips to enjoy your vendo experience:

1. Try items you can't find from your home country.
2. The hot items are really hot so exercise caution when opening.
3. Check if someone else is in line. If so, do not linger for too long when selecting your item from the machine. You can decide first beside it before standing in front.
4. There are 100yen vendo's around. Look for them before you buy from a machine. 30yen may not be a huge difference but it still matters if you're on a limited budget.

You can get most of the vending machine items at convenience stores or grocery shops for a cheaper price. If you really want to try them all but don't want to spend that much, go to bigger grocery stores like Life or Super Tamade. But of course, getting stuff from the vendo is still another thing you oughta experience in Japan.

So yeah.. here's a collage of our (Allen's) best vendo finds. We stuck with just drinks or hot soup and not solid food or any other weird stuff (I heard you can get used panties from a vendo in Japan hahaha ew).