Fooled by Japan's Weirdest Vending Machine (Twice)
I thought my money was stolen. Turns out, Japanese people are just too innovative for me.
I’m late, I’m sorry, I was on the mountains! Yamabushi gotta Yamabushi and all that.
Here is Japan’s weirdest vending machine, notice anything?
How about now?
At the bottom right of the products on display, in a ボス・マート Bosu Mato ‘Boss Mart’ section, it has Yoguretto and Hai remon (High lemon?), whatever they are, protein bars, Ginza Rusk, potato chips, cookies, and cup noodles.
In a vending machine.
Japanese innovation at its finest!
And you know what, this machine pulled a Penn and Teller; it fooled me.
Twice.
But first:
The Great KitKat Illusion of 2005
The first time a Japanese vending machine tricked me was waaaaay back in 2005. It was during my first time in the country, a Japanese class trip. The trip that made me fall in love with the country and the moment I decided to live here1.
But the vending machine, oh man, I remember it vividly, for such an insignificant event.
We were heading back to central Hiroshima from Miyajima and waiting at a train station when something in the vending machine caught my eye:
The KitKat Symbol!
In a vending machine!
Yes, one of those chocolate things Japan decided shouldn’t be chocolate.
I saw it and thought ‘this must be a trick. Japan has KitKat drinks’?
Wow. Such advanced.
I bought one expecting a can of chocolatey goodness in liquid form. However, what I got was very much not in liquid form.
It was a jar with a removable lid, and two KitKat bars inside.
Japanese innovation at its finest!
Still yum though, I couldn’t really complain.
Which brings me to the vending machine in question.
This one:
The one at Yu Town, an onsen (hot spring) facility in Tsuruoka.
AKA the location of:
The Great Onsen Heist of 2026
After getting out of the bath I was feeling a little peckish and I noticed the protein bars. I recalled my time in Hiroshima and thought, ‘awesome, it will probably be one or two of those bars in a jar with a removable lid’.
How wrong I was!
I put the money in, pushed the button, and then,
nothing.
At all.
Nothing happened.
The machine stole my money!
Or so I thought.
So, I tried again, I put in more money.
And the same thing happened!
Nothing!
I stood back in bewilderment and thought to myself; should I put in another coin? Should I scream out in rage? Should I call a member of the staff?
I did what any normal Japanese person would do: I voiced my concern to anyone around me willing to listen:
「あれ、出てこないなぁ」 Are, detekonai na. ‘That’s odd, nothing’s coming out’
To which an old lady sitting nearby said: ‘oh, I shall call a staff member’.
And just as she proclaimed the custom yoisho and heaved herself out of her seat I noticed it.
In fact, it’s very possible that you have noticed it too. I mean, I’ve shown you that photo twice already.
Here it is again:
Look at what’s there on the right side of the machine. I can see cup noodles, potato chips, some cookies…
That’s right, you pay using the vending machine, and then pick up the product from the shelf next to it.2
Japanese innovation at its finest.
Like those honesty boxes in the countryside, and an example of how high trust Japan is. Also, I guess, a very easy way to trick an unsuspecting (and hungry) yamabushi.3
Daily Yamabushi Posts for June 26 to July 2, 2026
Here are my Daily Yamabushi posts for the past week. Get more Daily Yamabushi posts at timbunting.com/daily-yamabushi. Discover more Japan essays and daily insights in the Kiwi Yamabushi Substack Archive, or follow my writing over on Medium.com.
Which, to be precise, was when looking down at the rice fields after leaving Narita airport.
To be (kind of) fair to the machine, on the side of those stickers where it says “Boss Mart”, it also says 「先に商品在庫を確認してください」please check the product storage (?) in advance, AKA, look for where the products are. But it’s a vending machine, normally stuff comes out of it?
Yes, I did take two bars in the end.
That would definitely have caught me out too. I have seen cash boxes for that kind of thing but paying using the vending machine is a first
Haha, “unsuspecting and hungry yamabushi” got me — there’s something almost dangerous about a system that trusts you that much. Makes me wonder if the honesty box culture works because everyone secretly imagines getting caught, even with no one watching.