Japan Informer

Your Aesthetic Japan Guide

Month Long Struggle To Get A Drink From The Snow-Blocked Vending Machine

by

An epic story about a vanishing machine has a surprising finale. In Japan, vending machines are one of the most straightforward and convenient ways to obtain a beverage. Unless you’re Twitter user 606 (@bumwings), in which case it’s a different story.

Snow blocked Japanese vanding machines

Last month, they went to their neighborhood vending machine in Hokkaido to purchase a bottle of Gungun Guruto, an Asahi milk-based lactic acid drink comparable to Yakult. However, while the buttons and currency slot were accessible, the tray to receive the drink was hidden beneath a mountain of snow. The user claimed that they were unable to purchase the beverage.


That was on December 20, just before Christmas, and that’s where the tale begins because 606 came back with an update that they weren’t able to buy Gungun Guruto.



By this point, 606’s tweets had sparked widespread interest online, and hundreds of people had become personally invested in this Twitter user’s quest to purchase Gungun Guruto from the machine. It wouldn’t be an easy task, though, because things started getting worse the day after Christmas. They couldn’t buy it that day either.



On December 28, though, the snow began to melt slightly, giving 606 a glimpse of optimism. Although they couldn’t buy it that day, they noticed indications for the purchase to be possible.


This happened for another three days, but the snow barely moved, making the tray door inaccessible. @bumwings then stayed indoors for a few days, working on their digital music recordings on YouTube, before heading out again on January 3, when it appeared like things were on the mend. They weren’t lucky that day.

The next day appeared to be just as dreadful, and on January 4, everyone began to question if there would ever be a happy ending to this tale.


Things started getting gloomier with each day, as they tweeted on January 5 about the situation worsening.


The weather had changed dramatically, and the worst was yet to come, with the 12th and 13th of January turning to be two of the most dreary days of the trip. He was afraid he’d never be able to purchase Gungun Guruto again.

 

Then, on January 15, all went dark as the machine’s light was consumed entirely by snow.

On January 17, a faint light reappeared after being hidden for a few days.

The sun shined a little better on January 18, and then the snow was abruptly cleared on January 19, and the machine was out of the snow!


People around the country came to a halt and did a double-take when they saw what the photo above revealed: a beverage that wasn’t Gungun Guruto. 606 was now carrying… a bottle of Dodekamin Strong??? instead of the bottle of Gungun Guruto.

Replies on Twitter started flooding in on why he didn’t choose the initial drink; he wanted to get along with some who were having a laugh with the twist in this story and some who supported him in selecting the energy drink.

Given the dark alleys walked and the frigid temperatures encountered throughout this epic quest to utilize the machine, an energy drink like Dodekamin seemed to be a more appropriate choice for this triumphant occasion.

The reason he wanted Dodekamin over Gungun Guruto, according to 606, is a little less philosophical; he simply had a lot of Yakult in his fridge.

Whatever beverage he chose, the story of the snow-bound vending machine came to a happy conclusion. It just goes to show that these machines can withstand the most extreme circumstances and even survive to become appealing relics long after the lights have gone out.

 

Source: Soranews24

Also read about Why Vending Machines Are So Popular In Japan

Write a comment