OIO: Vending machines

OIO = Only in Okinawa

One of the first things Ryan noticed when we arrived in Okinawa was the number of vending machines.  They offer both cold and hot drinks starting at 100 yen.  They are everywhere, from the busiest shopping center to the junction of agricultural roads.  For those of you who are familiar with mist-netting in Arkansas, try to imagine a vending machine next to the AGFC signs or on any of the remote dirt roads near St. Francis Sunkenlands.  Ryan heard a statistic about vending machines on Okinawa: there are eight vending machines for every Okinawan.  Really, vending machines are everywhere.

After hiking the falls, we thought we'd sample some vending machine goodness.  While pondering our selections, we thought vending machine goodness should be a regular part of our blog.  First off, it's a great adventure because you're never quite sure of what you're getting, other than it's a hot or a cold beverage.  Second, there are so many choices within a single machine, and then a variety of different kinds of machines: Coca-Cola, DyDo, Yakura, and the list goes on.  I have to give Ryan total credit on this idea, because it's a good one.

For our first entry, we tried these:

Ryan opted for green tea, or what he hoped was green tea. judging from my expression in the photo, it looks like I picked some toxic 'joker wantabe'  green sludge in a can.... unfortunately thats my face before the can was opened. I saw a can that featured a replica of flan, and thought it must be a custard-flavored beverage.  In other words, something wholesome for Ryan, and something sugary-sweet for Erin.  

We opened the cans:

Ryan's wasn't green tea per se, but rather a beverage made from green tea powder, or "matcha."  It was like a matcha latte: a little thicker than tea, as though the powder were mixed with milk, but a bit bland.  Perhaps a hint of sweetener would make it better?  Ryan's verdict:  not great, but not terrible. It looked like some nasty leftover pea soup, was very creamy, but nothing to write home about...though perhaps a blog is not included in that statement.

Mine, on the other hand, was a bit of a surprise.  I hope you can see it in the photo.  My beverage was not flan-flavored; it was flan in a can, baby!  If you haven't had flan, imagine pudding.  Then imagine what pudding would look like after you've shaken it up in the can.  Finally, imagine pouring those lumpy, half-liquid-half-solid chunks from a can into your mouth, and then swallowing.  The flavor was excellent, but I STILL don't know how I feel about flan in a can.  I'd get it again.  We all know that experiments must be repeated to see if all trials elicit similar reactions.