Mmm.... Hot Corn Soup.

Posted on March 19, 2007 by Clint Spivey

Sometimes it's hard for me to reconcile the fact that in Japan, the busiest place on Earth, you find some of the most innovative conveniences. Take the vending machines for instance. Normally something as simple as a vending machine would not elicit much curiosity, but not here. Whether the dead of a freezing, snowy winter or the middle of a humid Japanese summer, these machines are a godsend. They are literally everywhere. No matter where you go in any Japanese city, you will see a vending machine somewhere near you, guaranteed. They are in train stations, parks, office buildings, residential neighborhoods, temples. I've even seen one outside of a funeral home. While both cold and hot drinks are served year round, it's really in the winter that these machines prove their worth. There's nothing like cradling a hot can of coffee in your hands while trying to keep warm waiting for the train.

The hot drinks are not like I was accustomed to. I had seen coffee machines in my youth where a small paper cup was dropped out and filled with a scalding beverage that was probably similar to coffee on the molecular level. Not so in Japan. The hot drinks are served in sturdy cans at just the right temperature. Not so hot to where you're nursing your beverage for ten minutes before you can safely drink it, and not luke warm as to defeat the purpose of a hot drink. Your drink arrives literally just right, similar to the third bowl of porridge that got Goldilocks in so much trouble.

The oddest concoction that grace these machines are the cans of hot soup. Soup you say? I too was leery at first, but once I tried one I was hooked. Corn soup seems to be the most prevalent, though I seem to recall seeing tomato before. The corn soup is delicious. It makes for a great light snack while at work or on the go, especially during a cold winter day. Only the Japanese could successfully market a soda-like can full of soup and make it work.

The ease that these machines bring to everyday life cannot be overstated and are another unique part of the country that I've come to enjoy. Anyone living in Japan or just on holiday here, will eventually take advantage of one of these machines.