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Vintage coin-operated “weight machine” found in Kyoto stationery store

Master Blaster Nov 17, 2021
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Somewhere along the way we forgot how to make weighing yourself fun.

Step right up folks young and old! You are about to witness a marvel of the modern age. Up until now, the only way to gauge a person’s weight was load them into a catapult and see how far they flew, or place them onto a seesaw with an increasing number of hogs on the other end.

But now the mechanical age has produced this wonderous device that can actually determine your weight – accurate to half a kilogram – in times as short as one measly minute!

▼ Behold, the “Weighing Machine with Tickets!”

Now, do we have a volunteer to step up onto this machine of the future? Yes…you, young lady! Folks, our volunteer tells us she’s a writer for SoraNews24 and her name is Maro. Let’s hear it for Maro, everyone!

While she’s getting ready, let me tell you all a bit about this wonderful contraption here. It was developed in Hong Kong in the 1960s where such devices were commonly found around rail stations and movie theaters. This particular model caught the eye of a shop owner here in Kyoto who shipped it over personally.

▼ Although old, it uses technology well beyond our understanding. Even the grammar and capitalization in the instructions are so advanced, it might seem odd to our archaic eyes.

In fact, this may actually be the only machine of its kind in Japan. Around the same time in the 1960s, most people here could just use the scales at the widely used public bathhouses, so there never was such a need for these high-end appliances.

Oh wait…I think our volunteer Maro is ready! She’s standing on the machine, ready to toss in her 100-yen (US$0.88) coin and find out her weight…

▼ Byyuuuunnnn…

Huh… Alright! Nothing to worry about here folks. Cutting-edge technology like this is bound to have a few bugs that need ironing out. Let me just get my lovely assistant here to open it up and see what’s wrong.

Now, I would explain all the inner workings of this apparatus, but it would require a PhD in industrial arts to understand it. If you ask me, though, I’d say the hypnowheel is on the fritz again.

Okay, it’s back up and running! Now that Maro has placed her coin into the slot, the machine will select a ticket with a random design to print her weight on.

This state-of-the art printing wheel is capable of making ink impressions of all the digits from 0 to 9, and even decimals!

Here it comes… Bingo! Everyone, Maro of SoraNews24 weighs 58 kilograms (128 pounds)!!! Isn’t that amazing! Did you all hear that in the back? This woman right here weighs as much as an espresso machine. Let’s give her a big round of applause!

She also received a ticket with a picture of a maiko on it. All tickets here have a certain Kyoto theme to it, but you’ll never know what you’ll get until you take a spin of the hypnowheel.

However, some of the tickets from Hong Kong machines are also on display, including one with…Mr. Bean?! Is he really that old?

By now, you all must be simply dying to bring one of these mechanical miracles home to take up an entire room, but I’m afraid it is staying right here at the Traveler’s Factory Kyoto stationery store in Kyoto City.

Be sure to stop on by and experience the future of weight assessment technology…today!

Store information
Traveler’s Factory Kyoto / トラベラーズファクトリー京都
[Shinpuhkan] Kyoto-shi, Nakagyo-ku, Karasuma-dori, Aneyakoji, Sagarubano-cho 586-2
「新風館」　京都市中京区烏丸通姉小路下ル場之町 586-2
Open 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
Website

Photos ©SoraNews24
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