Vending Machine Craziness

I have blogged before about vending machines in Japan. They are located almost every 5 feet and you can buy just about anything in a vending machine, from drinks to french fries to batteries and to even underwear (I have yet to see that one, as it is in Tokyo).  Well now East Japan Railway has introduced a "smart" vending machine, which has the ability to recommend beverages based on your age and gender.

This machine, located in the Shinagawa train station, has a built in camera that can focus on a customer's face and tell what age and gender they are. It then groups people into decade categories, up to age 90, and recommends beverage ideas based upon their age grouping. It has a 75 percent accuracy rate.

The machine has a 47-inch touch screen display showing the drink options and will flash advertisements when not being used. Over 500 of these "smart" machines will be installed in the area within the next two years. 

I get frustrated at times with some of the "outdated" and complex processes Japan seems to have in place. But then other times I just shake my head in amazement. You can order McDonald's through a barcode on your cell phone. Train passes will work in convenient stores and vending machine for payment. Cell phones with TVs on them. A 5-ft tall "human robot" to be used in offices and businesses. And now a vending machine that can detect your age and gender.  Really, what will they think of next?

 

Halong Bay - Vietnam

One of the "must see's" in Vietnam is Halong Bay. This bay consists of over 3,000 limestone islands covered in vegetation. Some of these islands house small fishing villages, while others have caves to explore. and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

You can take a day trip boat through part of the bay or choose to stay overnight on one of the "Junks".  You have the option to stay multiple nights, seeing more of the bay, however we opted to stay one night considering we were short on time and between us and the Klepfer family we had 5 children to entertain.

Unfortunately there was alot of fog coming off the water while we were there, but the views and trip was still breathtaking. I can only imagine what it looks like during a clear time.

It took us 3.5 hours to get to Halong Bay from Hanoi via a shuttle bus. While the drive was long, it was interesting to drive through some of the "countryside" of Vietnam. Part way through we stopped at a rest area to grab snacks, drinks and for a bathroom break.

One we arrived at the port we had to board a hopper boat to our "Junk". The kids were excited to be going on a "cruise" for 2 days.

We arrived at our "Junk" (I have no idea why they call the boats this) and got checked into our cabins. The Junk was awesome and the rooms were quite spacious.

There was a total of 10 cabins on the Junk. The other "Junkmates" consisted of a couple that barely spoke to anyone, an Asian couple, two guys vacationing solo and two couples who were backpacking across Asia. They turned out to be a very fun group of people.

The afternoon was spent eating lunch, exploring the caves, kayaking, and cruising around the bay looking at all the islands and little villages.

The meals served on the Junk were awesome. The kid enjoyed sitting at their own table eating all the decorative food.

After dinner we cruised around the bay some more and then had a fun night of karaoke. Even Matt joined in the fun!

The next day we cruised around the bay taking in all the sites before returning back to the port and heading back to Hanoi.

You can see many more pictures here.  It was an awesome two days and I highly recommend anyone going to Vietnam to make sure they visit Halong Bay. You won't regret it.

Next up?  China Beach!

It's How Much?

We have officially had our first medical experience in Japan. I had to take Christopher to the doctor because he had a horrible cough that was just getting worse and he seemed to be sucking on an inhaler about every hour.

Here is a synopsis of our dr visit
Left the house at 4:05.
Arrived at dr office: 4:20
Saw dr: 4:27
Paid bill and left with 4 medicines (not a prescription but medicine in hand): 4:50
Arrived home: 5:10

Diagnosis: Bronchitis

Total cost: ¥5,000 ($55.86)

Yes you saw that right. All this:

For a mere $55.86. (and we don't even have any Japanese cheap health insurance) And it only took an hour... amazing.