Japan has something of a reputation for being a little strange sometimes. The country also has a reputation for being in love with vending machines. I think this story fits both those molds!

It seems like there is a wagyu beef vending machines in Osaka!

Oh but it's not just any vending machine, it's a gacha vending machine! I think gacha may be becoming a commonly understood term due to many mobile phone games having a gacha function in them, but just in case you aren't familiar, it basically boils down to a randomized drawing. You pay some money and you get a random prize, which is probably worth less than you paid unless you are lucky and get the rare one which is worth a little or a lot more than you paid.

So here we have a gacha wagyu beef vending machine!

I assume most of you are probably familiar with wagyu beef. It is known world-wide as being some of the highest quality and most expensive beef available. It has a higher fat level which gives it a more delicious taste. Maybe the most well-known variety of wagyu beef outside of Japan is Kobe beef, or perhaps Matsusaka beef, but there are several varieties.

So... would you play the gacha odds and try your hand at getting some?

I'll spoil the link a little. The author tried his luck and ended up receiving a pretty good value. His mom tried too and also got a good value. Go read the link for the author's full story

I won't be going to Osaka any time soon, so I won't be able to try this machine. But we do have at least one Osaka resident here on Hive. Maybe you can find and try this machine for us Hive account@noopu!

The article mentions that there is also a wagyu vending machine in Toyota City, Aichi, which is actually fairly close to me. I may have to try to find that machine!

David LaSpina is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku.

If this blog post has entertained or helped you, please follow/upvote/reblog. If you want to further support my writing, donations are welcome.