(Everywhere)

(無處不在)

There is a vending machine for every 23 people in Japan.

在日本，一部自動販賣機平均能服務23個市民。

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

這裡是世界上人均自動販賣機數量最多的地方。

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

在忘記帶名片一事後，我開始留意日本街頭上的不同自動販賣機 。

I noticed... they are everywhere!

我發現……他們無處不在！

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

我們現在看到的是日本的常態。

Behind me sits an entire shop dedicated to chopsticks.

我身後的這間店是專門賣筷子的。

Yes, I'm about to go inside.

沒錯，我現在要進去了。

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

為了更了解自動販賣機，第一件你要知道的是，日本是個人口老化嚴重的國家。

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

這的平均年齡是46歲，幾乎是世界平均年齡的兩倍。

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

而出生率只有1.4可見日本的人口正在萎縮。

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

對於日本大眾來說，這絕對是迫在眉睫的危機，而其中帶來的影響就是勞動力變得很貴。

There's a scarcity of low-skilled labor.

社會缺乏教育程度低的工人。

So, instead of paying a sales clerk to sit and collect your money when you buy a piece of gum, they just putting a machine and automate the whole thing.

因此，與其請一個店員坐在那收錢，只要一部自動化的機器就可以了。

And the same goes for real estate.

房地產也經歷同樣的遭遇。

Japan is one of the densest countries in the world, 93 percent of the population lives in cities.

日本是其中一個人口密度最高的國家，有高達93%的人口住在城市。

People literally live in apartment smaller than your SUV.

他們所住的公寓比一架休旅車還窄。

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.

因此，既然要花大錢買店面，倒不如在小巷放一部體積不大的販賣機，一來可以節省不少開支，二來利潤回報也不錯。

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.

根據一篇由日本經濟學家所寫的文章，關於自動販賣機另一個更好的解釋是，日本人對自動化、機械人技術十分著迷。

Everything that can be automated here, is automated.

在這，任何可以自動化的東西都被自動化了。

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

很常當我在餐廳想點餐的時候，只要用機器就行了，然後再把小票遞給店員。

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

種種的現象都表明了日本有一個普遍的文化趨勢，就是盡可能自動化所有東西 。

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

在東京隨便一台計程車都裝有由司機控制的自動門。

Now, I don't want to overstate this.

我並不是有心跨大事實。

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

事實上，日本仍保留着對手工製品的熱誠。

A good example of this is the seven-year-old coffee shop I just got out of, where they literally use a weighted scale to weigh their coffee beans before grinding them and brewing them to order.

我剛離開的咖啡店便是個很好的例子，店主在研磨和沖制咖啡前會用一個秤來秤一下咖啡豆。

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

如果要把咖啡弄涼，他們會先把咖啡倒入金屬容器，然後繞著大冰塊轉。

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

所以沒錯，日本人熱愛自動化的同時，亦未曾忘記手工製品。

So another thing that totally contributes, is this: Coinage.

第三個主因就是：硬幣。

So much coinage.

太多硬幣了。

The one big caveat to the whole automation thing is that they haven't really gotten on board with credit cards yet.

日本其中一個全自動化系統的弊端是，在這並不普遍使用信用卡。

Everything is cash based.

所有交易都是以現金為主。

And because that you always have coinage, one of their highest coin is worth like five dollars.

所以你身上總有一些硬幣，而最大面值的硬幣價值相等於5塊美金左右。

And let's be honest, there's nothing more satisfying than unloading some of the change in your pocket into a vending machine for some yummy treat.

老實說，沒有甚麼東西比得上把找來的零錢拿去換一些零食更好了。

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

我個人最愛的是熱綠茶，出來的温度剛剛好，實在是一種小確幸。

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

簡單來說，日本就是個勞動力昂貴，同時又喜愛機器人，和太多硬幣存在的國家。