That's the highest vending machine per capita on the planet.

這是全世界最高的販賣機比率。

After the business card fiasco, I started to become keenly aware of all the vending machines that I saw here in Japan.

商務卡沒辦法使用之後，我就開始仔細觀察我在日本看到的所有自動販賣機。

I noticed, they are everywhere!

我發現，自動販賣機比比皆是！

Indeed, what we're looking at here is a Japanese institution.

沒錯，你看到的所有景象是日本獨有的文化建設。

Behind me sits an entire shop dedicated to chopsticks.

在我身後的是一家筷子專賣店。

Yes, I'm about to go inside.

而我正準備進去裡頭逛逛。

The first thing you have to know in order to understand the vending machines, is that Japan is an aging country.

首先，了解自動販賣機之前，你必須先知道日本是個高齡化國家。

The average age here is 46 years old, which is almost double the world average.

這裡的平均年齡是 46 歲，幾乎是全球平均的 2 倍。

And the fertility rate is 1.4 which means the population is actually shrinking.

生育率則是 1.4，這數字顯示出幼年人口逐漸下降。

This is actually a looming crisis for Japan generally, but one of the effects of it is that the labor market is very expensive.

事實上，對日本而言，這是一個迫在眉睫的危機，因為這將造成勞動力成本變高。

There's a scarcity of low-skilled labor.

低技術的勞工也面臨了短缺。

So, instead of paying a sales clerk to sit and collect your money when you buy a piece of gum.

所以，與其雇用銷售人員坐在收銀台，收取你購買口香糖的錢。

They just put it in a machine and automate the whole thing.

還不如設置一個機器把所有的事情自動化。

And the same goes for real estate.

房地產也是一樣。

Japan is one of the densest countries in the world.

日本是全世界人口最密集的國家之一。

93 percent of the population lives in cities.

百分之 93 的人口都居住在都市。

People literally live in an apartment smaller than your SUV.

日本都市的公寓甚至比你家的運動型休旅車還要小。

So instead of paying a lot of money for a store front, retailers will just slip a little machine into an alleyway to save a lot of money and they can still turn a really good profit.

所以，與其要付出店面成本，零售商寧願趕快製造一台自動販賣機，並放置在街道上，省錢之外，他們也能有不錯的營收。

According to one essay that I read from a Japanese economist here in Tokyo, the bigger explanation for the vending machines is a fascination or even an obsession with automation and robotics.

我從日本東京一名經濟學家的文章中，讀到了關於為什麼到處都是販賣機的最好理由就是自動化及機器人對人們有一種莫名的吸引力。

Everything that can be automated here, is automated.

因此，在日本任何有辦法自動化的東西都變成自動化。

When I go into order like a ramen or breakfast, more often than not I order on a machine and I give a little ticket to someone.

當我要點碗拉麵或是早餐，很多時候我都是用機器點餐的，然後再把一張小小的票交給店員。

It's indicative of a broader cultural trend of wanting to automate every system you possibly can.

這代表著一種廣泛的文化潮流，試圖讓每個可以自動化的系統都自動化。

Every taxi in Tokyo has automated doors that the driver controls.

東京每台計程車都有是由司機來操控的自動車門。

I don't want to overstate this.

我真的沒有吹牛。

There's still a major appreciation for handcrafted artisanal goods here in Japan.

不過，日本還是有很多人欣賞純手工的東西。

A good example of this is the seven-year-old coffee shop I just got out of.

像是這家我剛剛才離開，已經開了七年的咖啡店，就是個很好的例子。

Where they literally use a weighted scale to weigh their coffee beans before grinding them and brewing them to order

他們會先用磅秤來秤咖啡豆的重量，接著才會進行研磨和沖泡。

To cool down their coffee, they put it into a metal vessel and spin it around a giant ice cube.

為了讓咖啡冷卻，他們會先把咖啡倒在一個金屬容器裡，然後繞著一個大冰塊轉。

So yes, they love automation but they're still very much in touch with the handmade.

所以，沒有錯，他們很愛自動化可是還是很常接觸到手工的東西。

So another thing that totally contributes is this: coinage.

另一個非常有用的東西是：零錢。

So much coinage.

超多的零錢。

The one big caveat to the whole automation thing is that definitely got on board with credit cards yet everything is cash based.

所有自動販賣機最大的限制就是還無法使用信用卡，所有的東西都只收現金。

And because of that you always have coinage.

也因為這樣你總會有零錢。

One of their highest coin is worth like five dollars.

其中最多的錢幣大概值 5 美金。

And let's be honest.

但說實在的。

There's nothing more satisfying than unloading some of the change in your pocket into a vending machine for some yummy treat.

沒有什麼比把一堆口袋裡的零錢拿出來，投到自動販賣機買好吃的東西，還要更滿足的事情了。

My personal favorite item is hot green tea comes out wonderfully warm, and you just wonder how you got so lucky.

我最愛的東西就是熱綠茶，掉出來還很溫熱的時候，你就會想：我怎麼會那麼幸運。

So Japan is an aging nation with expensive labor and a love for robots and too many coins in its pocket.

所以，日本是個高齡化國家，有著昂貴的勞力、對機器人的熱愛，以及口袋裡太多的零錢。