New Friends & Vending Machines

One of the fun and fascinating aspects to our stay in Japan has been the exploration of the Japanese Vending Machine. Whether you want a hot or a cold drink, french fries or a hot dog, or, dare I say, even a beer, you can buy it all from one of these amazing machines. A red or a blue background on the price indicates whether a drink is served hot or cold. The other day we ventured to taste test a few of these drinks, including hot cocoa (which tasted off, although we could not pinpoint exactly what was wrong about it), hot corn juice (just the the juice you would drain out of a can of corn, except hot, and with a few random kernels left in for good measure), cold C.C. Lemon (which boasted the vitamin C of 50 lemons or something like that - and it tasted just like my favourite British drink, Bitter Lemon, which is essentially carbonated lemonade), and another cold fruit drink (the fruit is still unidentified).

With the plethora of drinks to choose from, as well as the meals these machines can provide, the one surprising characteristic of the Japanese vending machine is that they do not sell candy, nor do they sell chips. I am rather disheartened by the thought of having to always go into a store to buy my treats, although my body (and blood sugar level) are grateful for this deterrant to my candy tendancy. I suppose we could now make the hypothesis that Japanese people must consume less sugar from candy and chips than Americans (or Canadians), on average.

While I sit at my computer, I also wanted to take this opportunity to introduce my friends and family back home to a few of our new friends here in Misawa.


In this picture, you will see us girls (L to R: Abi, Tiffany, Ellie, and I) after our Cranium victory. Granted, this is one of few (maybe even one of one, come to think of it) victories for the girls, so do not feel too sorry for the boys (shown below L to R: Brett, Hyatt, Brian, and Christopher).