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We visit the “vending machine that makes wishes come true”

Oona McGee Jul 17, 2021
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A rather unusual place to have your dreams granted in Japan.

We’ve visited a lot of unusual vending machines around Japan, eagerly pressing our coins into their slots in return for all sorts of things like ramen, face masks, and roasted potatoes, just to name a few.

Now, there’s a new vending machine that’s got us reaching into our pockets once more, because this one promises to make dreams come true, and to see how it works, our Japanese-language reporter Masanuki Sunakoma made a trip to Tokyo’s neighbouring Kanagawa Prefecture.

▼ Located off route 467 in Fujisawa, this looks like a normal vending machine for drinks, but the sign next to it reveals its true powers.

The sign reads: “This is known as ‘The Vending Machine that Makes Wishes Come True’. Please give it a try when you’re going for something like a test or sports competition.”

Masanuki had never met a drinks machine that promised to fulfil wishes before, and when he took a look at the selection he found there were no gimmicky drinks here – they were all well-known brands.

While it’s unclear how the machine came to be known as one that grants wishes, Masanuki figured it was either a clever marketing ploy by the landowner renting — and receiving a portion of profits from — the machine, or a moniker given to it by local school kids who’d found that a drink here before an important event really does make dreams come true.

Either way, Masanuki was keen to buy into the idea, opting for an energy soda called Dodekamin Strong, so he could really feel the good luck coursing through his veins.

Pushing logic aside, Masanuki promised to believe in the power of the machine, and the magical drinks inside it, in order to give him the best chance of having his dreams come true.

Dodekamin Strong contains contains 12 kinds of powerful ingredients such as guarana, royal jelly, and arginine, but this one seemed to emanate some kind of extra power.

Masanuki pocketed the drink and took it home with him, wondering all the way what he would wish for. Would he ask for a lifetime of great hair cuts, like the one he received from the oldest Western-style barbershop in Japan? Or perhaps he should ask for a bathtub filled with real money instead of fake notes?

▼ The options were endless, and it was a hard decision to make, so once he got home, he decided to place the drink next to his lucky beckoning cat for inspiration.

Treating them both like amulets on a shrine altar, Masanuki bowed his head and searched his soul for the dream he wanted to be fulfilled the most.

As if by magic, the wish arose within his soul, and with this dream now in his mind’s eye, he screwed off the cap and downed the Dodekamin in one go, enduring the strong carbonation as if it were a rite of passage to help make his aspirations a reality.

So what did he wish for? Well, frustratingly but understandably, he says he can’t tell us that or else it won’t come true!

▼ What he did reveal to us, however, was the exact location of the machine so we can all have our wishes granted.

So next time you’re out and about in Kanagawa, you might want to make a stop at this vending machine and take a moment to wish upon a drink. Let us know if your wish comes true!

Information
Negaigoto ga Kanau Jihanki (The Vending Machine that Makes Wishes Come True) / 願い事が叶う自販機
Address: Kanagawa-ken, Fujisawa-shi, Fujisawa 19 area
神奈川県藤沢市藤沢19のあたり
Open 24 hours a day every day

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[ Read in Japanese ]