Abandoned vending machines

I have long had a fascination with abandoned places. Old factories, hospitals, hotels, waste plants, private houses, even entire neighborhoods or towns are sometimes abandoned to the elements, left to slowly decay as nature takes it's toll on them. Here in Japan there is plenty to be seen, as evidenced by this site that a friend directed me to. While I haven't been able to go on any expeditions to abandoned sites in Japan so far, I have discovered a new (for me) sub-genre for the hobby - abandoned vending machines.

While walking near Makino a while back, I came upon a cool little cubic building that looked like an abandoned snack bar (snack bars being a Japanese phenomena worthy of its own entry at some point). I stopped to take some pictures.



Around the corner from the entrance though, I found something that intrigued me even more - an old vending machine for hot and cold drinks. Now, vending machines are of course legion in Japan - there's 1 for every 23 people according to an article at www.japan-guide.com. But this one was clearly from another era and it had been a long, long time since anybody received any liquid satisfaction from it.



Exactly when it was abandoned is naturally hard to say, but we can get pretty close by looking at the sample cans left inside.






Asahi began selling "Nova" coffee (top picture, left) in September 1986 and the name was changed to "J.O." in February 1990. I have to rely on Wikipedia's entry for Asahi soft drinks for this information unfortunately, but I was able to confirm that the famous football player Diego Maradona did in fact do advertising for Nova coffee in the 1980s, as Wikipedia states. "Nova is here!"


(Pictured borrowed from www.advertisingarchives.co.uk)

So, this vending machine was probably abandoned by its owner somewhere during the last years of the 1980s. It has been standing there for at least twenty years. This is one of many things that I find fascinating about Japan - old things are sometimes left around, not always swept away in the latest redesign or renovation as they are in Sweden.

In fact, this machine is like a mini-museum to Japanese vending machine history. It kind of makes me wish someone would take care of it. Most of these drinks probably don't even exist anymore - well, except for Pepsi. And apparently Bireley's may still be available in Japan.



Since that time, I have begun finding more abandoned vending machines on my walks. Perhaps I have some selective perception going on. Anyway, here are a couple of other examples. I'm especially curious about what the game vending machine had to offer.





By the way, I cannot let this post end without mentioning Ikeda san, a Japanese man who has been taking pictures of the same vending machine in Hokkaido for the last five years ... every day. He documents the changes in advertising and drinks offered very carefully. On days when he is away on business trips or just can't go for any reason, his wife takes pictures for him. That's a good wife for you. You can read about him in English here and check out his blog (all Japanese) here.