One of the things that people frequently ask me about when they arrive to Japan for the first time is the surgical masks that many Japanese people wear. One of the reasons why so many people wear this kind of masks on the streets is the kafunsho (pollen allergy), but people also use them when they are ill or when a PM2.5 pollution cloud arrives from China. Surgical masks are so important in Japan that there are even vending machines that dispense them.
The products in the center are hand tissues and the products on the left are hokkairo. Hokkairo are small pads with chemicals that heat up during several hours when exposed to the oxygen in the air.
Other posts about vending machines in Japan:
- Low-tech Hamburger Vending Machine
- Fresh eggs vending machine
- New solar-powered Coca-Cola vending machines with LED lights
- Umbrella vending machine
- Vending machine with a 47 inches interface
- Used panties vending machines
- Women vending machine
- Porn magazines vending machine
- Hamburger vending machine
- Book vending machine
- Groceries vending machine
- First Oden-kan vending machine
- Alcoholic vending machine
- Shit vending machine
- Vending machines with interactive maps
- 16 vending machines in the same photo
- 50 yen vending machine