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when traveling in a foreign country, ordering food can be an adventure. fortunately, japan has a plethora of solutions for avoiding human contact altogether when eating out: the conveyor belt restaurant (above) and the vending machine restaurant (below). in the conveyor belt, a chef prepares small dishes and places them on a conveyor belt that winds through the dining room. seated at a bar in front of the conveyor belt you can pick up any of the small dishes and eat. at the end of your meal the pile of color-coded plates is counted to add up the bill (in modern conveyor belt restaurants, the plates contain an RFID chip which is counted and paid for at an automated kiosk). there’s even a spigot at each seat to dispense hot tea.
in a vending machine restaurant, on the other hand, you pay first by selecting a menu item from a vending machine outside the restaurant. you receive a unique token, and you hand the token to one of the chefs for them to prepare your food. if you want something else, you have to go back outside and get another token.
even though these options exist, i must admit i’ve never tried either one - no matter how hungry or confused - and i’m not sure why. maybe it’s the paradox of eating out alone, or the idea of being fed by a machine. the japanese have a history of finding bits of life that have yet to be automated, and many of these trickle down to other countries. but conveyor belts and vending machines have yet to be seen in restaurants outside of japan - i wonder why?
. Leo is a artist, inventor and all around practical person in the Tangible Media Group at the Media Lab. He has a background in sculpture, architecture and industrial design as well as an MS from the Media Lab spent working on the kitchen of the future. He is on a search for truth.
