Vending machines pick up slack for Chiba's local specialties

Yoshikazu Hirano stands next to a vending machine selling vegetables produced on his farm. (Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

CHIBA -- Sales at vending machines have been brisk amid the prolonged novel coronavirus crisis, because people can buy goods without face-to-face transactions and thus avoid unnecessary infection risks.

In Chiba Prefecture, vending machines selling locally produced foods, such as vegetables and shellfish, are attracting attention.

One vending machine selling vegetables in Funabashi in the prefecture was set up by Yoshikazu Hirano, 63, who runs the Nishi-Funabashi Hirano Noen farm.

Kintaro Uchiumi holds a bag of quahog hard-shell clams, which are sold at his vending machine. (Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

In April last year, Hirano began stocking the vending machine with komatsuna mustard spinach, edamame and other farm products he grows.

Partly due to state of emergency declarations and other restrictions, orders for vegetables from eateries he contracts with have more than halved. He set up the vending machine expecting that it might offset part of the lost sales.

Hirano said sales at the vending machine have been brisk. The reason for the popularity seems to be that fresh vegetables, such as broccoli and daikon radish, are being often refilled.

In November, packs of Komatsuna Ramen were added to the lineup. Powdered komatsuna in kneaded into noodles, and one pack serves two people. In the five months since then, about 400 packs have been sold.

Another vending machine operated by the Kanehachi Suisan fishery firm in the city sells a lineup of quahog hard-shell clams. The shellfish is the city's local specialty. Sizes of the clams vary from mini (40 to 50 grams) to mega (250 grams).

Kintaro Uchiumi, president of the firm, began selling from the vending machine in December. If customers scan QR codes with their smartphones, they can see recipes for recommended dishes using the clams.

Uchiumi said, "I hope people can enjoy the taste of Funabashi in their home."

Jbag, a Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture-based company that sells and manages secondhand vending machines, began trading in these kinds of machines around 2019, but there was not much interest in them.

But since February last year, the firm has received nearly 40 inquiries from potential buyers mainly in the Kanto region about vending machines for selling such foods.

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