Photos by Shoji Kudaka ()
Japan is the land of the vending machines, but these are not exclusive to selling soda, coffee, hot tea or even canned soup broths. In Chatan Town, you’ll find what may seem like just another vending machine, but these orange machines don’t sell drinks.
Stop at these to purchase discount coupons for 17 menu items at local area restaurants. Talk about a deal!
For 100 yen, grab a coupon for beef steak, curry rice, loco moco, roast beef bowl, pasta, Okinawa soba noodle and more. The discounts range from 150 to 1,000 yen. And, some of the coupons will make your meal a set with soup, salad, and rice or bread.
A purchase at this vending machine dispenses a box with a coupon, a flyer of the restaurant info and a map where you can find nine other coupon vending machines like this one.
Machines dispensing coupons for purchase are not common, so they have garnered a lot of media attention including a spot on Japanese TV show, “Nanicore Chinhyakkei.”
Before you head out for a meal in Chatan, a stop at these machines might be worth the trouble – and the 100 yen.
