In Japan, Vending Machines Have Random Flights and Stupid Tasks (7 photos)

Live bugs, shark meat, the phone number of a random man who wants to meet a girl... All this can be bought in Japanese vending machines, and that's not the end of it. But here's a new facet of the crazy Japanese hobby - now you can randomly pull out a ticket to the most unexpected place in a slot machine.





Gashapons culture

There are two types of vending machines in Japan: when you choose a specific product, pay for it with coins, and it throws the desired product into the tray. Or the second one is gashyapon, where all the goods are closed in capsules that are mixed in a large aquarium.



Here are some of them, very cheap entertainment

You pay a fixed price and get a random capsule. These can be machines with anime figures, drinks, small jewelry, anything, even scarves and gloves. What struck me most was the gashyapon, where you get... a letter! Yes, it can be a letter from an imaginary little sister (how are you, brother, how are you?), or from a grandmother.

This is such a random, invented from scratch care and feeling of being needed, the Japanese are just crazy about it.





A whole alley of gashapons. I would only buy scented candles like this, a little surprise every time!

We also have gashapons, they give out random keychains and mini-toys. But in Japan it is a much larger industry, which has now set its sights on random air travel!

Gashapons with tickets were installed by the Japanese airline Peach Aviation, which mainly flies domestic routes. So you don't need to have a passport to enjoy a random win.

They were installed, of course, in Tokyo, where there is more traffic, at Narita Airport.

You pay 5,000 Japanese yen (30 dollars) and get a random gashapon.



I can't stop thinking about how cheap it is to fly anywhere!

The domestic destination can be any destination - from Okinawa to Hokkaido. Of course, you don't get a personalized ticket right away. And a beautiful piece of paper with the destination and a code that needs to be exchanged for flight miles, which in turn can only be spent on this destination or they will burn out.

The gashapon also contains a mini-badge and the coolest thing is a mission for the person who won this trip. It will need to be completed at the destination. For example, if you are flying to the sea, you will need to collect all the ingredients for fish soup at the local market and cook it for yourself. In Osaka, for example, you need to eat until you drop, or walk along the coast to a strange statue and take a photo with it.



Mission - go fishing from a pier in Hokkaido

The airport staff themselves come up with the missions so that they are not repeated and are original.

Everyone is crazy about random flights

The airport did not even expect that the in-flight gashyapon would actually "take off" like it did. The goal was to sell at least one capsule a day, but since the opening of the first vending machine in Osaka in August, they have sold more than 3,000 units.



There's a badge, a mission card, and a flight miles card

While the company doesn't make much money from selling these capsules, the buzz on social media has been a big help to the airline. It's recovered from the Covid downturn much better than others.

At one point, the machine even had to be "put on vacation" because the gashyapons were selling out quickly, and those who found the machine empty were very upset.

Sometimes it fills up, and that's another fun event.



Gastronomic tourism is very developed in Japan, so there are many tasks to eat local food

To be honest, I would fly myself 100%, no matter what I got. It's an incredible adventure for a weekend, and even with a mission. It's a pity, only one ticket comes up and you can't arrange a random adventure with friends.