Kit Kat in a Can

You can get some truly odd things from vending machines here in Japan. There are vending machines that dispense umbrellas, ice cream, beer, hot soup, and condoms. My friend Nathan swore he found one in Nagoya once that sold plastic figurines in compromising positions. But mostly they sell drinks. At least out in the inaka where I live they do. So I was pumped to find out that somewhere out there they were selling Kit Kat in vending machines. But in order to do so they have to give the Kit Kat a little disguise. If it's going to be hanging out next to the Boss Coffee and the Iced Green Tea then it needs to look a little more like a drink. The solution? Kit Kat in a Can!

Unfortunately, my small town didn't have any vending machines selling them. Fortunately, my friend Kristin came to visit and she shares my obsession so she didn't mind going into almost every conbini we passed and scoping out thousands of vending machines while in Tokyo and Kyoto on the hunt for new Kit Kats. We finally found the Kit Kat Cans in a vending machine at Ryoanji Temple, famous for its beautiful rock garden.

The truth is that these aren't really cans, as I could see as soon as I peeled off the wrapper. But Kit Kat in a Jar doesn't really have the same ring to it. (And you really can't know how hard it is for me not to write Kit Kat in a Kan because I really am that korny.) The can in the machine made it look like the chocolate bars were bursting out of the jar but really they were safely sealed inside. For 200 yen you get four chocolate minis - eight small fingers. That's a little more than what you would pay at a store but I suppose you're paying for the convenience of being able to soak in the serenity of the Zen rock garden at Ryoanji while munching on a Kit Kat. We saw one more vending machine selling Kit Kats and it was at Kinkakuji, the Golden Pavilion, so it's possible they are targeting tourists.

I'm not sure I would buy one again since they are more expensive but I was truly grateful that they were available. On the day we happened across them we had skipped lunch and I had been threatening to gnaw Kristin's arm off so coming across an actual snack in a vending machine saved her from an armless fate. The fact that it was a Kit Kat only made it better. I give this a high rating for ingenuity and for novelty's sake but I'll keep buying my Kit Kats from the 7-11. (I say that like I have a choice. I did mention there are no vending machines with Kit Kats within miles and miles from here right?)

For even weirder vending machines concessions check out this site. And tell me what's the craziest thing you've ever seen!

Final score: 9