Aiming to Become the Sacred Place of Vending Machines: Japan’s First 'Vending Machine Shrine' Opens

Introducing the Vending Machine Shrine, a new spot sharing Japan’s vending machine culture with the world.

SENDAI CITY, MIYAGI PREFECTURE, JAPAN, April 28, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Sun Vending Tohoku Co., Ltd. (CEO: Yoshio Kato, Headquarters: Sendai, Miyagi), which operates approximately 33,000 vending machines from Hokkaido to the Hokuriku region in Japan, has opened the Vending Machine Shrine - a site designed to share Japanese vending machine culture with the world.

What is the Vending Machine Shrine?
A rare sight, with more than 20 vending machines suddenly lined in row in the middle of a rural landscape.
From the staple products such as drinks, sweets, snacks, ramen, ice cream, and T-shirts, this unique outdoors facility offers a variety of over 200 items, even featuring traditional shrine items such as omikuji fortune slips and omamori protective charms - all available for purchase from vending machines.

Vending Machine Shrine – Overview
Name: Vending Machine Shrine (with DRINK Vending Machine Shop Natori Aoshima)
Location: 21 Shimoda, Medeshima Shiote, Natori City, Miyagi Prefecture
Access: Approximately 20 minutes by car from Sendai Airport
Official Website: https://www.sunvending.jp/food/
Official SNS (X): https://x.com/sunvendingtohok

Background of the Vending Machine Shrine
Japanese vending machines, which are clean and well-stocked (offering both hot and cold items), rarely fall victim to vandalism or theft despite being completely unmanned and installed outdoors, which can be seen as a reflection of the Japanese national character. In some areas, vending machines even contribute to public safety by serving as substitutes for street lighting at night, for which vending machines can be seen as a symbol of the safety and orderliness of their surrounding communities.
Sun Vending Tohoku views this combination of cleanliness, variety, and security as a distinctly Japanese cultural asset. In considering effective ways to share this unique vending machine culture with a global audience, the company developed the concept of a site that merges two aspects especially popular among international visitors: Shinto shrines and vending machines, giving rise to the creation of the Vending Machine Shrine.

Visitors to the Vending Machine Shrine are encouraged to appreciate the role of vending machines in daily life - machines that, regardless of the weather and without pause, offer refreshment and comfort to people. And that visitors experience this shrine with a spirit of gratitude toward all things, a value deeply embedded in traditional Japanese thought.

(This Spring, in addition to the Vending Machine Shrine, another sacred site for vending machines opens: the Vending Machine Museum.)
Following the Vending Machine Shrine, a new vending machine sacred site opens, the Vending Machine Museum - featuring diverse one-of-a-kind vending machines with original wrapping designs, lined up across a spacious outdoor area. The colorful machines have already gained attention as a striking photo spot.

Company Overview
Headquartered in Sendai, Sun Vending Tohoku Co., Ltd. operates across six prefectures in the Tohoku region, as well as in Hokkaido, Niigata, Hokuriku, and northern Kanto. The company owns and manages approximately 33,000 beverage vending machines. Established in 1976, it reports annual sales of approximately ¥15 billion(approximately US$105 million) and will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year.
Website: https://www.sunvending.jp/
Address: 2-3-50 Fukudamachi Minami, Miyagino-ku, Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.
Representative: Yoshio Kato, CEO
Founded: June 3, 1977
Employees: 300 (plus 280 in group companies)
Business Domain: Beverage services
Annual Sales: Approximately ¥15 billion (approximately US$105 million)

For inquiries regarding the Vending Machine Shrine:
E-mail address: yuwa-nagakubo@svt.co.jp
Phone: (+81) 22-254-4541

Nagakubo Yuwa
Sun Vending Tohoku Co., Ltd.
yuwa-nagakubo@svt.co.jp