During a very long walk, my husband and I came across a vending machine selling cans of mystery beverages called "Mr. X". The benefit of buying something without being certain of what you're getting is that you save a whole 10 yen (12 cents). The bad part is that you might end up with one of five different drinks, and not all of them look that good. The options are Coke, Skal (a drink I've read tastes like flat Sprite, but I've never tried), Calpis, a drink with gelatin cubes in it called "Lifeguard Bionic drink, and a fruit drink that I can't quite make out the details of from my picture.
This seems like a truly goofy concept from a consumer point of view, but I can definitely see the benefit from the vender's view. If one particular drink isn't selling well, you can load it up under these mystery tabs to sell them to people who are short on change and can't afford the price of their choice can, or for those who like to gamble with their drink options.
Are drinks really only 100 yen in Tokyo? They're generally 120 yen here.
ReplyDeleteI'll keep an eye out for this. It's an interesting concept, but since I don't drink any of them, I'll let my husband be the guinea pig!
Skal ("a milk-based soft drink") is pretty good--like a lightly carbonated Calpis. I don't know if that makes your own personal odds better on this game of vending-machine roulette, though.
ReplyDelete" . . . but since I don't drink any of them, I'll let my husband be the guinea pig!"
ReplyDeletexD too funny helen.
i might buy a beverage that way if i'm feeling particularly adventurous, but boy, it's tough to buy things sight unseen.
hahaha i like it. adventure in even something so mundane as picking a drink makes life that much more fun.
ReplyDeleteHelen: Usually, they're not 100 yen, though you occasionally find a machine with low prices. For instance, there's one in Shinjuku near a pachinko/pachisuro place which has off-brand drinks for only 50 yen! Mostly, they're 120-150 in machines here. This one was an oddity. And good use of the hubby!
ReplyDeleteNora: I should probably give Skal a try. I think I mainly read a review of it on another site. I'm not sure I've seen it in shops around my area much, just in this machine.
p00lriah: That's rather how I feel. I like a good surprise, but knowing the options actually takes away some of my incentive to gamble!
Thanks to everyone for the comments!