自販機 and The Singularity

Vending machines are everywhere in Japan. 

You can buy almost anything from them - drinks, food, capsule toys, clothing.  

Drinks? 

Beer, of course. But also all types of cold drinks in summer (water, tea, juice) and hot drinks in the winter. 

Food? 

Cup-ramen. Ice cream. There’s a new one in Hiroshima / 広島 / with an oven inside that dispenses hot pizza in less than 5 minutes. 

Capsule toys? 

Gachapon / ガチャポン / are little toys. In capsules. 

Clothing? 

In airports and train stations it is common to see  Uniqlo-To-Go machines. I read about women's underwear vending machines too, but I think they are for hentai / 変態 /. 

The Japanese word for vending machine is “jihanki” / 自販機 /. This translates to something like, automatic selling machines. 

Japanese vending machine experiences vary widely from high-definition, gesture-based digital screens, to old-school, coin-operated automat boxes. 

Most vending machines allow payment by cash or rechargeable train fare cards like Suica (Super Urban Intelligent CArd). Through apps, payment by smart card extends to smartphones and watches, like Apple Watch. 

One company, called Acure, is the JC Decaux of Japanese vending machines. Their machines turn the mundane act of buying a bottle of water into something future-feeling and fun.

Combine that with buying water that is yogurt flavored, and you know you are in Japan. 

Sorry! The mention of "The Singularity" in the title was clickbait. I don't think Japanese vending machines are going to unite and take over.