Vending Machines are the best in Japan! While my last purchase was just a Fanta drink, I have been able to buy hot coffee and soup. Something different from the usual cold drink or snack.

Oh wait. I bought on the spot cotton candy and orange juice made from a vending machine in Singapore.

I can't remember. It's been such a long time. Usually vending machines don't have anything I want anyway since I don't drink soda and rarely eat junk food and that's the overwhelming majority of what I see in vending machines at least where I live

I pretty much never use them in my home country, but I will raid them whenever I'm on holiday somewhere—gotta experience the local snacks and soft drinks

Last thing I bought was a citrus and mint sprite in Morocco (it was great)

Grabbed a Pepsi Max from the vending machine at the local library.

A kit Kat at the car wash just three days ago. Before that it might be 5 years.

Bought a bag of chips and it got stuck, but it didn't charge me-- I guess they detect when the item falls down now? Pretty neat.

Two weeks ago at work during my break. I ate an apple that I had brought but wanted something salty, so I bought a bag of Sun Chips. Usually I'll buy a bigger bag of chips at the grocery store and keep it in my work locker, but I didn't have any that day.

My last job. They had decent stuff when it was stocked. eg. Iced coffee, smoked almonds, jerky, juice

It was a lot more cenvenient than going to the canteen especially in the winter. And I made enough money that it didnt really matter if it was sold at a premium or not.

Now im more worried about all of that stuff being rather unhealthy.

Last thing I purchased from a vending machine was a LC to LC SMOF cable because the one i had was too short.

This was at a datacenter where you could buy small nick backs like cables and cagenuts in the break room.

Maybe 4 or 5 months ago. Used to get a soda from the machine in my apartment's pool area once in a while because they were only $1. They randomly jacked the price up to $3.50 in a day and I haven't use that machine, or any other, since.

Three weeks ago I bought some freshly baked pizza from a vending machine. It was quite ok.

I ordered some reeses pieces from the vending machine at the laundromat. It just took my money though.

I ate almost exclusively out of a vending machine when I was at uni, which would make it about 6 years ago at the most recent.

A Welch's grape juice and a bag of baked plain chips. Not the best diet in the world

I never did that in my life come to think of it.

Used a cotton candy vending machine at the mall with my 4 year old not that long ago.

Was either ice cream or coffee, 2004. It’s tied to a specific episode of my life.

I recently bought a water bottle at a vending machine inside Costco for .25 cents. I was thirsty. I like the idea of vending machines, especially the ones in Japan that serve quick meals, and wish that was more commonplace in the US.

Pre-Covid. Probably a drink during back to school shopping with my kids

Last October, campground I was at already had their water off and I didn't fill my tanks at the last stop so I bought 10 bottles of water to get my family off four hydrated and fed. $20/gallon water! Before that it was a very long time.

Few days ago, a random drink.

Often they're places where there are no shops, or in places where it's less convenient to reach the shops, where they make sense.

If there's already a similarly priced shop nearby it makes more sense to nip in, grab a drink from a wider selection, and use the auto checkout. But it depends what I want.

If the machine has Lilt and I want Lilt? Ima get me that Lilt.

I use a laundromat, do the change makers count? That's weekly for me, but not something most folks (including me) would consider a vending machine. I don't buy soap/softener/whatever is in the unmarked column.

2022 sometime in may. Probably.

Probably about 15 months ago. My last job had a vending machine just outside the building. New job has one way, way over there. I don't want a chocolate bar that much.

This morning. Packed schedule bouncing between corporate buildings with no time to eat. Grabbed some peanut butter crackers to tide me over.

Diet Coke. Maybe about a year ago. Probably during break from class

About a year ago at an airport. Coffee. Was cheaper than the cafe.

Many many years ago.

But I'm planning to go to Japan and Im hoping to find a lucky vending machine that breaks that cycle

A few years ago, when I was finishing up my degree in college. It was evening school, so I had a few dinners that were soda (usually cherry coke) and some random salty or sweet snack. I had a nutty buddy for the first time since childhood. Tasted like nostalgia.

I'm wary of using vending machines lately. You can use a debit card on the soda machines, but they'll charge you much more than the cost of the soda, and not refund you the difference for several days. I think that sucks.