Japanese vending machines offering fresh tomatoes quite succesful

Residents of Kobe, Japan can buy fresh tomatoes at vending machines at a railway station and a shopp…

Residents of Kobe, Japan can buy fresh tomatoes at vending machines at a railway station and a shopping mall. A third machine is planned for a second railway station. The machines offers bags of tomatoes weighing some 230 grams priced between 300 and 400 yen ($2.60-3.50).

The tomatoes are grown at Rokko Farm, which has a store that also sells the tomatoes. Shimabun Corp., based in Kobe, an iron scrap recycler and steel processor, cultivates the tomatoes and introduced the vending machine in 2019 on the suggestion of an employee. The tomatoes usually sell out within a few hours.