Vending machine culture. Sticker-covered drink vending machine in Ueno, Tokyo
Photo: Alpgiray Kelem · Japan · 2026-06-11 · Editorial use
Taito, Tokyo, Japan - June 11, 2026: A red drink vending machine covered almost entirely in stickers stands in a narrow alcove in Ueno, Tokyo. Its lit display holds three rows of bottled cola, water, green tea, canned coffee and fruit sodas, priced from 100 to 150 yen. Labels on the middle row are marked hot in Japanese, while the top and bottom rows are marked cold. A plastic cowboy toy figure stands among the bottles behind the glass. A large sticker on the lower panel reads The God Diner, Support Your Local Hamburger Dealers, Ueno Tokyo, and the walls on both sides are layered with more stickers and posters. Japan is one of the countries with the highest number of vending machines in the world.
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