The Yomiuri Shimbun
A short story dispenser installed for a limited time at the Setagaya Literature Museum on Oct. 22 in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo
1:00 JST, October 28, 2025
Japan’s first literary vending machine was installed at the Setagaya Literary Museum in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo, this month. When a user touches a button shown on the screen, a story they can be read in a few minutes is randomly dispensed, printed on a long, receipt-like strip of paper. The service is free.
With fewer and fewer people reading books these days, Tohan Corp., a major book wholesaler, with support from the Cultural Affairs Agency, developed its own machine to help people discover the fun of reading. Timed to coincide with the museum’s ongoing exhibition commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Tokyu Setagaya Line, it dispenses stories connected to stations along the line.
The user selects one of three buttons, such as “Sangenjaya Station-Wakabayashi Station,” and the machine prints out an excerpt from a work such as Fumiko Hayashi’s “Diary of a Vagabond.” It will be installed at the museum until Nov. 5, after which it will be moved to two other facilities along the Setagaya Line.
An office worker from Tokyo’s Suginami Ward who used the machine said, “Since it’s free and the content is compact, it might be a good way to get people interested in reading.”
One of these machines was also installed Friday at the felissimo chocolate museum in Kobe, and another will be placed on the Aoyama Gakuin University campus in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, in late November. The machines deliver stories connected to each location.
