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Three things we loved about Fujiya’s frozen sweets vending machine in Tokyo

Shannon Aug 8, 2023
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You don’t even need to go inside a store to get them!

Fujiya is a famous Japanese sweets maker who sell cakes, cookies, and more at their storefronts, and they even operate some all-you-can-eat sweets buffets. Mr. Sato learned that Fujiya started up their first-ever frozen sweets vending machine in Tokyo called Fujiya Cake’s Stand, and you bet he went to try it out.

▼ Before we dive into his review, here’s where the machine is.

It’s situated just outside of Otowa Fujiya in Tokyo’s Otsuka neighborhood. Mr. Sato arrived at Otowa Fujiya at 11 a.m. and saw a small cluster of people around the vending machine. Was it broken? he wondered. Did they already sell out? Upon closer inspection, he learned it wasn’t supposed to start operating until 1 p.m. that day. Not wanting to wait around for two whole hours of his busy day, Mr. Sato revisited another day and found it up and running smoothly.

Here are the three things Mr. Sato loved about this vending machine.

1. They’re affordable

There are six types of cake in the vending machine, each priced at 500 yen (US$3.53) for two slices. That’s right, two slices!

There were also sweets in bottles called SemiFreddo–or “semi-frozen” in Italian–cakes. The bottles have layers of cake and cream that are super rich and creamy when thawed. These were only 600 yen a piece. Similar bottled cakes go for 900 yen or even over 1,000 yen, so Mr. Sato thought this was a great deal.

2. They’re ready quickly

Mr. Sato purchased one cake set and one sweets bottle. He chose the High Cacao Chocolate Cake and the Marron Montblanc Sweets Bottle. Since frozen sweets–especially from vending machines–typically take hours to thaw before they’re ready to enjoy fully, Mr. Sato was prepared to hunker down for a while. But when he looked closely at the product labels…

▼ (in the lower left corner) “At room temperature for five minutes.”

…he saw it only took five minutes to thaw!

Does that mean they don’t last very long once out of the machine? he wondered. But again he was proven wrong as he saw the sweets’ expiration date wasn’t until June 2024.

▼ The upper comment; “Expiration date: June 23, 2024”

3. They’re delicious!

Once his treats had thawed for five minutes, this is what they looked like. Not bad for something out of a vending machine, right?

They tasted good too! The cream was a great texture despite being previously frozen, and the sponge cake was just dry enough to balance it out. It was like he’d bought it fresh from the store.

Next, he tried the Marron Montblanc Bottle. The marron cream had a smooth mouthfeel, and it was especially flavorful for something that was half-frozen. The whipped cream and cake were moist, too.

Mr. Sato almost thought Fujiya should stop making fresh sweets and just set up a bunch of vending machines around the country instead. That’s how much he liked them. Fujiya has plans to set up more, so keep an eye out for one if you see the Fujiya name around town!

Vending machine information
Located outside Otowa Fujiya
Address: Tokyo-to, Bunkyo-ku, Otsuka 2-15-6
東京都文京区大塚2-15-6
Vending machine is open 24 hours a day

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[ Read in Japanese ]