Forget shopping queues and madding crowds. In Japan the vending machine is becoming a major retail outlet. An estimated 4.8 million machines now line Japan's streets, alleys and highways.
An incredible range of products flow at the drop of a coin. It is estimated that vending machines consume as much power as three nuclear reactors produce daily.
And that's not surprising as you drive through Osaka's suburban belts at night, guided not by street lamps, but by a glowing stream of soft-drink sentinels.
Twenty-four-hour shopping has become the order of the day since Japan's first vending machine rolled off the production line during the Meiji period from 1868 to 1912.
Commissioned by the Glico confectionary company, it featured a 10-second silent movie with a range of confectionary to boot. A prototype model stands on display in Glico's Seishin head office, near Osaka.
'Vending machines have their problems, but they are convenient. We can buy anything, any time,' said Akiko Wakayama, 22, an employee of Groly Kiki Corporation, one of Honshu's largest vending machine manufacturers.