Should you trust these suspicious-looking Japanese vending machines?

If “will not your challenge Big Box” was a question, the answer would be no.

Japan is a country filled with all sorts of weird and wonderful vending machines. However, while most of them let you know what you’ll be getting when you push the button, there are some that don’t, making them more like giant gambling machines, luring you in with the chance to win big prizes.

Our reporter Yuuichiro Wasai came across one of these machines in Tokyo the other day, and the vibe he got from it was undoubtedly suspicious. The black-and-red colours looked dangerous, and the words “BIG BOX” seemed to jump out at him in an aggressive way.

Never one to run away from things he finds fearful, Yuuichiro stepped closer, to find signs that read: “Get your dream with 1,000 Yen” and “You can win a luxury prize“.

▼ “夢ゲット” (“yume getto”) combines the English word “get” with the Japanese word for dream (“yume”)

Despite his reservations at the look of the machine, Yuuichiro’s curiosity got the better of him, so he reached into his wallet for a 1,000-yen (US$7.64) bill and slid it into the slot.

▼ The signs above the buttons read: “Press the button you think will win”

Yuuichiro’s finger was drawn to a button on the top panel so he said a quick prayer and pressed it, hoping to receive one of the expensive, top-tier prizes.

▼ Could this be Yuuichiro’s lucky day?

Pulling a white box out of the compartment, Yuuuichiro’s spirits immediately dwindled, as the box was far too light to contain a top prize like a Nintendo Switch, which was purportedly one of the top prizes.

▼ Still, this sign on the machine said “No losers”, so he held out hope that he’d be happy with what he’d received.

Yuuichiro took the box all the way home with him for the grand reveal, which helped to build up a sense of excitement over his mystery purchase. Surely, if there were “no losers”, he should be able to at least get something worth 1,000 yen.

▼ Or so he thought, until he opened the box.

▼ Yuuichiro was now the proud owner of…a duck keychain?!

Being a glass-half-full kind of person, Yuuichiro thought the duck actually looked quite cute, so maybe this might be the start of a sweet new friendship. However, as he smiled and gave the duck a friendly squeeze…

▼ Yeowch!!!

A sharp shock ran  through his fingers, causing him to impulsively drop the duck on his desk. Shocked, in both senses of the word, Yuuichiro stood stunned for a second, before taking a look at the back of the packaging the duck came in. 

There he found a warning that read: “This product is a shock product. Do not use this product on people under the age of 18 or those with weak hearts, such as the elderly and small children.”

So this cute little toy was actually a joke product that sends out a zap when touched. Taking a look online to find out more about it, Yuuichiro discovered it was being sold at online marketplace Rakuten for…

▼ …a little over 600 yen.

So in the end, Yuuichiro had paid more than the retail price of the product, and he was now stuck with a little duck that he can’t touch and can only look at.

That makes the “no losers” sign on the vending machine questionable to say the least, so we don’t recommend wasting your money on them if you do come across them. However, if you’re like Yuuichiro and have a colleague in the office to play pranks on, then it might just make the pain of losing a little more bearable!

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