If you are thirsty in Japan, you needn't speak Japanese to get a drink...

If you find yourself in Japan, as long as you have some Yen (1000 yen bills or coins), you can easily get something to drink without having to speak Japanese. You just need to find a vending machine, and for 120 - 150 Yen you can easily purchase something. You may not recognize many of the items in the vending machines, but you will likely find Coca Cola, Grape Fanta, 7-up (not as common) and some type of water, though it may be salt water (for fresh water, make sure the bottle in the display is clear). Other than that, most items have pictures on them that give you a basic idea of what they are. It can be important to look at these closely, as it's quite a shock to presume you are about to take a drink of grape soda, only to take a big mouthful of sloppy grape jello! Also, many of the bottles will have pictures of fruits on them, this doesn't indicate that it's actually fruit juice. There is a drink called Qoo (I think I spelled that right) and has a picture of a little alien/cat/creature on it, and the label has pictures of apples, oranges or grapes. I purchased the one with the oranges and found myself enjoying a nice bottle of what tastes just like 'Tang'. If you are after real juice, it will be in a tiny (perhaps 6 or 8 oz) bottle and will still cost 120 - 130 Yen. Oh yeah, one other thing. As I mentioned in a prior blog, some beverages are served hot. The way to tell this is by the color of the button just below the item in the display. If the button is blue or green, the item is served cold, but if it's red, the item will be served hot.

You might ask, 'Where will I find these vending machines?' To which I reply, that you will find them EVERYWHERE!! In fact just the other day I rode through town with my husband, who feels that a car with a 'turbo' that is never used, is a waste. In an attempt to keep my life from flashing before my eyes, I decided to count the number of vending machines that could be seen on the sides of the road between here and the Navy Base. I quickly realized that I would need to count just one side of the road and count the other side on the way back. (whew, something for a distraction on the return trip!) :o) As I began counting, I decided that I would also count the cigarette machines, but separately, which successfully kept me thoroughly distracted, though a little car sick, for the whole 8.75 kilometers (just under 5.5 miles). It's funny, I just realized that the 40 k speed limit means that we drive under 25 mph everywhere we go out in town, unless it's after dark, when everyone speeds up to a reckless 60 k (37 mph)!! Sorry, I digress.

Back to my observation about vending machines. All totalled, there were 68 beverage machines and 37 cigarette machines which makes an average of 7.5 & 4.2 per Kilometer, respectively (12.3 & 6.7 per mile respectively).

So, even if you don't speak a word of Japanese, as long as you've got some Yen in your pocket, you will never die of thirst in the city. As for food, well, good luck with that...