These Vending Machines Sell Flights To Surprise Destinations

[Javaman]

https://www.vice.com/en/article/88nw7a/japan-vending-machine-gachapon-airline-flights-surprise-destinations

(I think this is actually a pretty clever idea)

Peach Aviation, a Japanese airline that largely flies domestic routes, is cashing in on that fleeting exhilaration.

On Wednesday, the company installed its very own gacha vending machine in Tokyo’s buzzing Shibuya district, filled with round-trip mileage points to domestic destinations out of Tokyo’s Narita Airport. The process is entirely random, and only upon opening do customers find out where they’re going. The locations include cities in Okinawa and the northern prefecture of Hokkaido.

snip.

Each customer pays 5,000 Japanese yen ($44) and receives 6,000 Japanese yen ($53) worth of mileage points, which can only be used toward the destination they won. Using the code printed on a sheet of paper inside the capsule, people then exchange these points for airfare to book online. It also comes with a miniature pin badge and a “mission” for the flier for when they reach their destination.

For Otani, his mission was to assemble his very own katte don, a popular seafood rice bowl dish bought at Kushiro’s Washo Market. Other missions include dressing up as the famous Osaka clown and “eat until you drop,” and identifying a strange object while walking along the coast in Ishigaki, Okinawa.

more at link

[Nittersing]

1. Oh, I can understand the attraction to this

A cheap ticket that comes with a message encouraging you to enjoy something local.

And a worldwide population that's been pretty much holed up for a couple of years!

Even if the length of the flight was limited to say... 500 miles. I'd be happy to explore a new city/park/town.

[bamagal62]

2. Gotta hand it to the Japanese!

They have vending machines for everything. ❤️