A small display about the East Japan Railway has opened in Japan House on Kensington High Street, including a fully working Japanese vending machine alongside models of the Shinkansen bullet trains.
The vending machine is dispensing confectionery exclusive to regional stations served by the East Japan Railway Company (JR-East) network, so there’s a variety of apple snacks and drinks from the apple-growing prefecture of Aomori, sweet potato chips from Ibaraki and mandarin mochi from Nagano.
Yes, you do need to pay for them, but it takes British currency.
They’ve also wired the vending machine into London’s transport network, so you can see live travel information on it.
There are also some items for sale created by artists in northern Honshu. Train patterned notebooks from Rollbahn and a variety of themed stationery sit alongside tenugui (hand towels) featuring JR-East bullet train designs.
It’s a small display, but likely to appeal to rail geeks for the chance to see some Japanese railway gear in the UK.
The rail booth is open until 14th September 2023 on the ground floor of Japan House on Kensington High Street.
The shop is open from 10am to 8pm Monday to Saturday and noon to 6pm on Sundays and bank holidays.
There’s also the free graphics art exhibition in the basement at the moment as well to visit.
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