It has been a long time since my last post. I am here in Japan and still adjusting to everything. I don't have internet at home YET! So I feel so alone! I have to run to the internet cafe near my place and shell out about 5 bucks for an hour. Oh the humanity. I have lots of new pictures to post but unfortuantely they will have to wait. Next weekend is the Tokyo Game Show so I will have some exciting pictures to post from there. In October. Yes, I probably won't get a connection at home until then. Doh. Compared to the previous city I was in, this one is more expensive but more people do speak english which is nice. The gumball machines have been few and far between and the vending machines are nothing special. I have some nice pictures of signs I am looking forward to posting. Here is a link to the Tokyo Game Show homepage. Strangely enough it is located in Chiba. What? See you on the flip flop.

http://tgs.cesa.or.jp/english/

Alrighty, just a mini post here for you today. I wanted to highlight something I thought was pretty cool with some of the vending machines in Japan, point cards! So after you make your first purchase from the machine you push the button and receive a magnetic card. Here is a shot of where the card is dispensed after the purchase.


This next slot is of where you insert your money. There is a coin slot and a slot for ¥1000 bills, just under $10. Just below the slot is where you insert your point card with a small display to show you your current point total.


And what is the purpose of all these points you have been collecting by drinking iced coffee, green tea and other goodies? Let’s take a look at the wonderful prizes!



From what I can gather, the prizes include: instant coffee, a toy truck or car, Hanes flip flops, a coffee mug, a Del Monte t-shirt, a Champion tote bag, Snap-On tools allen wrench set, a Michelin jacket, Pringles inflatable chair, Molten soccer ball, and more coffee. Wow. All for joining Club Dydo point card vending machine happy fun dream time explosion. Word.

Booyah! Here’s another round of machines from the land of the rising sun. These machines were in front of a drug store near my apartment. Near the entrance there were always stacks of diapers and paper towels for sale. From the looks of this picture, to the left of the machine, apparently they sold gloves too. These first two machines were quite the disappointment. I was stoked to see the giant machines in all their glory, but found out they were made of plastic. I felt betrayed and disappointed. How dare they make these machines? Plastic! Anyways, this first one features fake World Cup soccer balls. To get around the copyright it reads something like World Soccer Hard Ball.


This next fake gumball machine has phone straps. The text translates, loosely, Docomo air mascot strap. Why air is in there, your guess is as good as mine. Docomo is a cell phone company that uses this mushroom character as their icon. It really isn't that cute compared to other mascots. For instance, another company uses a lil squirrel with headphones as theirs. Come on, now that is just cute. But this?


More damn soccer balls! I’m guessing the machine on the left appears to be the 5th series of these balls. Where the machine on the right is series 3. I think these are two different manufacturers of balls because the Series 3 text reads World Soccer Super Ball. When I was teaching, I never saw kids with these balls. I just can’t imagine them being so popular that two different companies would feel the public needed super balls with fake World Cup designs this bad. At least the machines are metal.


Now we got some goods here. Fortune Diamond! Another sweet lil charm for your phone or bag. Now my Japanese ain’t too good so what I have to write about this is all conjecture. Each Fortune Diamond is a different color to bring the owner good luck in different areas. If you have any other ideas, please share them in the comments. The second machine is the return of the Air Sword! Air Sword II! Compared to Air Sword I, I can’t see any visible difference between the two in construction. But there are 3 new colors available. Sweet. George Lucas should be proud.

Long time no see! Here is a mini post to wet your appetite for gumball machines from Japan. I have been in the states for about the last month having a most wonderful time eating large portions of Mexican food and getting my butt handed to me by my sister in fierce battles of Scrabble (though I am getting good at those seven letter words). I will be returning to Japan later this month and am very excited because I will be closer to Tokyo. Booyah! So I figured before I make the move I should finish up the pictures of the machines I took before I left.

These machines were in front of a video game shop. They sold mostly new games but also had used ones too. Also, they had many slot machines inside, which seemed weird to me. There would be teens hanging out playing slot machines, though I think it was very unlikely they were winning cash. Possibly they would win video games or snacks. There was quite a snack selection inside: ramen, dried squid, chocolate, gum, mints. Dunno. I just love that these machines are blue.




We gots some dinosaurs again.


Then we have something called Training Game. It appears to be a lil logic puzzle type game. They are pretty popular nowadays.


And here we have some charm-type bracelets. I think they collapse so you can put them in your pocket on the go!


How about some Rainbow Springs? Maybe they are like Slinky? Or more bracelets?


And here is a lil peek inside the dinosaur machine. It's nice to catch a glimpse of all the plastic goodness that lies inside.


It took me forever to photograph these gumball machines. For the longest time most of them were broken or empty. Then one day I biked by and saw that they were ready for me. It was a good day, I didn't use my AK.

On vacation! Will be back soon with more pictures!

One more post about Mitsui Green Land. The next couple shots were taken in the safari walk. It was like a treehouse with some animatronic animals and many plaster animals. Here is one such plaster proboscis monkey. Check out that sexy snout.


In the background, you'll notice a giant penguin. That there was the safe haven for the day, called Iceland. It became out favorite place to go during the afternoon because the indoor temperature was -30° C. After walking around in the sun, the cool felt wonderful. I think we went inside Iceland about 4 times.

Japan is a very homogeneous country. Foreigners are few, with blacks being more so in the minority. So cultural sensitivity is not something in the forefront of society. Example:


For a sign warning visitors to watch their step, I have to say it's still pretty darn cute.

Here is one of the animatronic animals in the safari.



Through the P.A. there was a recording of what I imagine was a bear growling and roaring. I think the most frightening part of the bear was imagining the smell. I didn't want to get too close.

This was the log ride of the park. It was pretty fun and scary. Scary because I was afraid the water would eat my skin.


This is a shot of the cave exit. Inside the cave was a giant animatronic snake. Once you exited the cave you saw these guys. Maybe leftovers from the safari?

Mitsui Green Land! Land of green and scary jet coasters (we don't say roller coaster here in Japan). Our first ride of the day was the wonderfully titled coaster.


After a quick Wikipedia search I learned that grampus is another name for orca. Which now makes total sense because the carts for the coaster were....orcas. Grampus sounds totally better and like a cramp your grandfather only gets. It was a mediocre coaster, some good turns, but didn't feel fast enough.

Next up was this beauty. The GAO Jet Coaster.



GAO is, supposedly, the sound a dinosaur makes. At least that's what my friend told me and he looked pretty unsure. This ride was a lot of fun; super fast and loud. Along the ride there were tires attached to the tracks so when the cart passed by it would make a sound, possibly like a dinosaur. It didn't sound like "gao". The scariest part of the ride was getting into the cart. I'm 6" 1' and the engineers really didn't have me in mind when designing GAO. I got into the cart and couldn't sit correctly. I had to sit at a 45 degree angle, with my feet where the other passenger would have put theirs. I flagged down the GAO operator and asked if this was okay, and he motioned that it wasn't a problem. So right from the start it was going to be a scary ride. It was, but lots of fun.

One of the greatest things about Mitsui Green Land was the disregard for copyrights. Throughout the park were Disney characters plastered on snack bars and gift shops. Example:


A blatant rip off of Bambi. It even says Bambi in katakana under the picture. But, what you really don't see is what else is written. Take a closer look.


Yes, it reads Foods Sohp. So sweet.

Here is a lil something to wet your appetite for future Mitsui Green Land pictures.

A very sad day here at the ol' stinky robot. My digital camera is no more. My trusted sidekick for the last couple years was hurt by the one who loved it the most, me. Yesterday I took the day off from work and went to Mitsui Green Land with some friends. It's a huge amusement park with many roller coasters and other amusement rides. We had a great time in the sweltering heat. The best part was the fact we went on a Monday, no one was there. No long lines or screaming children running around. We would head for a ride, instantly get on and scream! My friend kept telling me about one of the rides and how scary it was. The day before he told me he wouldn't go on the ride because it was too frightening, primarily because of the age of the ride and the amount of rust accumulated on it. Spin Mouse was her name.


Sorry about the turd of a picture, Spin Mouse ate my camera. Spin Mouse was quite an amazing ride, it's a coaster that spins around in a circle, whipping you around. If I had a weaker stomach I surely would have barfed. When I got out of the cart and regained my bearings, I reached into my pocket for my camera to take a picture of my crew in the other cart; they looked really sick. The LCD screen was lit up with all colors of the rainbow (not a normal function). I figured that my cell phone in my pocket with the camera had been forced into the screen by the Spin Mouse. Oh the dreaded Spin Mouse!

I'll be doing another post with the pictures I managed to take at Mitsui Green Land another time. Right now, I must return to grieving.

Snack time here at the ol' stinky robot. First up is a machine I saw at a shrine in Fukuoka. I'll be putting the pics up on my Flickr site shortly. You can see my pics if you hit the link on the side. It's a pretty standard vending machine at first glance; coffee, juice, tea, sports drinks, cocoa. But at teh bottom are Kit Kats! Regular style and white chocolate. Nothing says lovin' like a vending machine Kit Kat.


Japan has some love affair with Pringles. I am not sure what it is, but all the great flavors are available here. A couple years back I fell in love with the Curry flavor. unfortunately they are no longer available here. Then there was the Sausage flavor. A lil too heavy for me, but still pretty tasty. Now we have...


These are so good! You just can't go wrong with Grilled Cheese flavor. The image of the open faced grilled cheese sandwich gets me everytime. The cheese looks so darn good. But what exactly is Griled Cheese flavor? I am going to do my best to describe the party in my mouth.The chip itself is your standard Pringle chip. The taste is like a wonderful salty cheese. Maybe a mixture of cheddar and american cheese. But then there is almost a parmesan taste in there too. Damn, maybe the Grilled Cheese flavor is beyond words. All I know is this may be my new favorite. I will be bringing some of these back to the states when I visit, sharing the love of Pringles.

Here it is! The wait is over! The dog keychain. I feel bad posting these pictures, like the curtain has been pulled back and the wizard left exposed. When I took the pictures of it I realized that it isn't so bad. What it comes down to is expectation and disappointment. Thinking back on the day I got the keychain, I was really hoping to get the orb that was featured on the machine. So after I plunked in my 100 yen coin and turned the handle. I really wanted to see that crazy, flaming orb. And there I was, left with this.



It's cute, but as a keychain it is rather large and heavy. Given that it has a chain rather than a keychain loop, makes me reconsider that it isn't a keychain. It is more likely something you would attach to your bag as a charm. The dog charm from Japan.

Something a little different for today's post. I went to Fukuoka a couple weeks ago for a nice day trip. I didn't get any gumball machine pictures though I saw many in the city. Many places don't allow cameras inside so it's a bit difficult to get good shots of some of the newer machines. Fortunately the older machines are left outside and easy to shoot. Anyways, when I was in Fukuoka I saw this.




Apparently this is a bicycle parking system. From what I gather, people purchase cards from the machine and input which parking station their bike is located. Not too sure what exactly the price is for the parking. I just can't imagine paying for bicycle parking. But space is a premium here so anything goes.

Sorry again for taking such a long time to post. This job search is such a pain. But enough of that. Green machines! I was happy to see these machines in the the department store. Again we see the old school style here with built in trays for the capsules. This first shot shows the variety of machines, though I only took pics of the older machines. The lighting was bad and using a flash didn't help much. I was also recovering from a horrible leg cramp, so squatting down for long periods of time to take pictures was not a happy moment. So some of the pictures are a lil blurry.


The machine on the left features ancient weapons, like katanas and such. They looked pretty cool. And the picture featured on the machine was so bland I really didn't want to buy them. Great marketing. The machine on the right features everyone's favorite dinosaurs. I would love to see dinosaurs travel in packs like they are on the picture.


This picture sucks. But was the best of the ones I took of these two machines. The left machine contains Pokemon charms. The one on the right has something about bugs. There is a video game about bug battles, I think this has something to do with it. Many kids in Japan collect beetles during the summer months and many of the bugs go for hundreds of dollars. The anime and games emphasize the bugs fighting each other. I haven't seen any of these bugs battle so I hope it's only for show.


The machine on the left has cool mini Gundam like figures. They looked really cool, but I was worried about getting a dog keychain so I passed on getting one. The other machine has more bugs. They looked like lil plastic models of beetles. I would have gotten one but I am not a fan of bugs in my house. Right now it is roach season here and have killed too many.

OK, big post here. I have more pictures from other areas to post so I better finish up this grouping. First up is a machine with Pokemon charms for your cell phone. Featuring the latest Pokemon characters.

This machine is probably one of my favorites in this series. What child wouldn't want one of these. Yes it's a collapsible pointer. For all your school presentations or to annoy other students. Behind the main image of the pointers, on the yellow bands it says The Stick. Stock up so you can be the envy of your friends.

Who doesn't love Pocky? Ok, I'm not really a fan. But now you can have your very own Pocky charm that doubles as a flashlight. Featuring all your favorite Pocky styles. Including Men's Pocky! Also the lights are in different colors! Yellow! Green! Orange! Red!

I haven't been in the states for almost a year now, are these things still popular? Well in Japan they are. The Color Bands! Unofficially licensed too! Featuring all your favorite mottos: Hope, Love Courage, Strength, Livestrong, and Best Friend. I love that the Livestrong is actually green and not the official yellow.

Apologies for taking so long to post more pictures. I am in the middle of a job search and it is taking a lot of my time and energy. Here we have a gumball machine featuring Pokemon clocks in the shape of Gameboy Advance SPs. These are the main prizes where the booby prize is a replica game cartidge with box. The cartridge is made out of a rubbery plastic, with authentic looking sticker just like a real game cartridge. The fake cartridge sucks. It's usually bent real funky but smells good.


Here are some cool super balls with your favorite World Cup soccer teams, namely Brazil. From the looks of the display picture, theses don't look to be official licensed balls. They still look really cool and probably smell good too. A nice rubbery, plastic smell. So intoxicating.

Here we have an excellent knock-off of the lightsaber. The amazing Air Sword. I love how the original Star Wars font is used to lure unsuspecting people to fork over their hard earned, or parents' hard earned, yen. I have a feeling this is another one of the machines where there are only a few of the super prizes in the machine and you are more likely to get the dog keychain.


And here is Hard Gay. For those not in the know, he is a professional wrestler commonly known as Razor Ramon. Hard Gay appears on television quite a bit on variety shows or in ads for Core 21, a pachinko chain. Many of his television appearances are available if you do a google search and are quite funny. Though after living in Japan for a year, he has grown a bit tiresome. So this gumball machine features a cell phone charm/strap that plays his famous catch phrase, "Fu!" Apparently it lights up too when you push the button. I tried to get one from a different gumball machine a couple weeks ago and ended up with something else. I was very disappointed, something worse than a dog keychain. I really need to post a picture of the dog keychain. It's sad.

I am at a loss here regarding what the first machine is all about. So I will guess about what exactly is offered here. Popular among some of the hobby shops or electronic shops are gift gumball machines. What you do is insert your money and get a capsule. Inside is a ticket which either reads winner or loser. Often the prizes are PlayStations, Gameboys or whatnot. The prize here happens to be a replica air gun. I really like the image of the gun contrasting with the brown background. If you can read Japanese feel free to drop me a line about what is written above the machine. Or make something up.

Now this machine may be a similar gift gumball machine. This time the prize being a model car. Sometimes the machines are filled with capsules containing booby prizes. So in the entire machine there is one cool prize as advertised and the rest are dog keychains or something equally disappointing.

I have no idea what is featured on this first gumball machine. I love the image of the screaming guy though. He looks pretty angry about the whole situation. I probably would be too if there was a creepy, glowing orb above my head. I did spend a 100 yen but did not get an ominous orb, rather, I got a dog keychain. I'll post a picture later.

The second machine has super balls in it. I love how the tray is made out of tape and plastic. There are even staples holding it together. Japanese ingenuity at its finest. This is one of the least expensive gumball machines I have seen here at 20 yen.

Unfortunately this style of gumball machine is slowly dying out. They are becoming more difficult to find around town. The newer plastic models of machines are everywhere, but lack the charm of the older machines.

Near my apartment there is a small hobby shop specializing in replica firearms and card games. The place is very dark inside and looks like no one ever shops there. The first time I went in I didn't even see anyone working there and was a bit spooked while looking around. In front of the shop are these wonderful gumball machines. I know they call them capsule machines here, but I prefer gumball. Call me old-fashioned. These machines are some of my favorites because of the classic gumball machine style. Take a look at where the capsule comes out, there is a small tray to catch it. The tray appears to be built into the cart holding the machines. In the first picture you can see that trays were made to catch the capsules. I have close-ups of each machine I will post later with descriptions of the toys.