Sep 21 2006
The FINAL word on used panty vending machines in Japan.
Here it is, all in one post. Please digg it. Do it for Japan. Every misinformed Japanophile needs to learn the truth once and for all.
1. This is NOT a photo of a used panty vending machine: http://www.photomann.com/japan/machines/bizarrex.jpg
I can't read all the text because of the low resolution of the photo and the big scratch on the face of the machine, but what I can read is, "ladies & mens brand new lingerie" in the center and "imported from USA" on the right. My guess is the machine was either in or near a love hotel.
2. Snopes is WRONG. (gasp!)
The page reads,
We'd read that this practice ended in 1993 and reported as much in the original of this article (which was penned in 2001), but since that time numerous readers living in Japan have written to say that not only haven't the machines gone away, but that they've themselves seen them.
How many of those eyewitnesses could read enough Japanese to tell if a vending machine was selling new knickers or used ones?
3. It is illegal in many prefectures to sell schoolgirls' used panties.
This Google search retrieves page after page of the laws in many prefectures that forbid the sale or purchase of used schoolgirl panties (even fake ones) anywhere, including in vending machines. Almost all of them use exactly the same wording. The average fine for breaking the law is 300,000 yen.
So how did this rumor first get started? This page sums it up best. Apparently, in 1993 someone in Chiba City put used panties in one or more vending machines. Subsequently, skanky underpants were classified under the law as second hand goods, which require a license to sell. This law is actually to prevent the sale of stolen goods, as explained on this page, which answers the question from a concerned mother whose daughter and friends were making a killing by peddling their skid-marked skivvies over the internet.
Are we all clear on this now?
Just this second I thought of the easiest way to get proof on video, if there's anyone out there who's still not convinced: I'll go to a police box with my camcorder and ask a policeman.
P.S. In Japan, there aren't any convenience stores staffed by robots either.
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45 Responses to “The FINAL word on used panty vending machines in Japan.”
it is a searing portrait of a former band reuniting to mourn the death of one of their own. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll wonder which Beatle you would have been (Ringo, right?) and if you can really buy used panties from a vending machine in Japan (Sadly, no). It's an all-around good time for all. ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCES: Friday, August 10 @ 7:30p; Saturday, August 11 @ 3p and 7:30p; Sunday, August 12 @ 3p Buy tickets here.
be looking for ideals when it comes to such things. I shall definitely return before I go back to the US. 3. Speaking of things that are unique to these isles, I'm afraid that the hunt for the machine that vends, errr… odd pieces of clothing may be a snipe hunt
Well… what have we learned here then?:
That there's an unexploited market for used panty machines in Japan! What are you doing sitting there! Get started ASAP!! We're gonna be riiiiicchhhhh (Pav) !!!
I hope my name doesn't become synonymous with used panties. Maybe I should go save some nuns and babies from a burning orphanage just to be safe.
dugg… Your many panty-filled titles make viewing your website at school difficult. I have to scroll down as fast as possible to avoid creeping out my neighbors.
Are there many nuns in Japan? (not trying to start a new myth)
I'm all done with panties now, and very happy to change the subject. Japanese nuns do exist, but I don't run into them very often. One thing I don't think I've ever seen is a young nun. Most of the ones I've seen look over 70.
After all this chatter, it's only a matter of time before some pervert Googles "japan used panties" and quickly lands on this site. Speaking of becoming synonomous, the name of your bigoted Senator (your homestate if I'm not mistaken) has entered the vernacular.
http://www.spreadingsantorum.com/
Dave
Remember the podcast I did last year about "groping"? That's a common search term people use when they find my site. But I'm happy to say that "laughing baby" gets a lot more more hits. There's still a little hope for humanity.
Sooo… CASE CLOSED!
you mentioned on a former podcast that it was possible in some seedy places to buy used panties from certain shops however, right? (I think?)
But actual vending machines is a myth.
When I am in Japan this summer I promise to ask every single person I meet about this. My friend went last summer and told me he saw such a machine, but he also told me he saw Godzilla, so I am a BIT skeptical.
If you ask too often, people will quickly start to assume your curiosity is more of an obsession.
It must have been the Akihabara soundseeing tour. I didn't know at the time that laws about second hand clothing had been changed. There was a store in the building I was standing in front of which in the early 90's sold used schoolgirl uniforms, and maybe or maybe not underwear too, I don't remember clearly, but it probably wasn't there anymore.
dugg. by the power invested in me by myself, i hereby knight thee sir pav, bringer of truth, dispeller of used panties.
I don't think I will ever see any of them again anyway. Besides, there are worse obsessions to have.
haha, wouldn't it be dispeller of myths?!
dispeller of used panties…POOF! they're gone! That's an odd trick.
Yes, myths would be better, but used panties somehow sounds nicer.
Hi Rich,
Love the show, v. glad you've started up again, etc. BTW, my girlfriend is Japanese and she says that there ARE used panty vending machines in Japan! She is obviously embarrassed by this (for Japan) but says it's definitely true!
I'm stationed in Yokosuka. There are DEFINATELY used panty machines here. But for 2,000 yen, there are plenty of gals who'll supply you directly from the source, eliminating the 'middle' man.
Rich,
The second time I was in Japan I rented some bicycles and took three friends for a ride about town. Being our first time in Kyoto, we just randomly explored the area not far from where the Kyoto Treaty was signed. Less than a mile from the plaque commemorating the treaty was a used panty machine. The most unusual jidohanbaiki I've ever seen. complete with girls pictures next to each pair.
I've been back to Japan eight more time over the years but have never seen one since. Must be they are a dying breed.
I have never seen any vending machines per se, but there are definitely burusera around,and aren't that hard to find.
I've seen used panties for sale in a video/sex toys shop in Tokyo (go out the south entrance of Shinjuku station, walk due west for about 15 minutes and you'll pass it) but they weren't marketed as school girls'… in fact they had polaroids of the supposed wearer, which looked like 20-something office workers.
My guess is like many things connected to the adult industry in Japan, even if it's illegal, you'll find people risking the fines, etc. to make a quick buck, er, yen.
followed by cigs and food. Though supposed urban-legends busters Snopes claim the story is true (based on a '93 article in the Economist), and this page claims to have a pic of one (scroll about halfway down), the legend, such as it is, is debunked here. Wikipedia also claims the story to be true but lacks any verification. Though revered as an authority, Snopes is definitely not infallible; it's funny how they print the date of the Economist article but use the present tense for the claim, based only
Hey, I was just thinking _exactly_ the same…
I´m already packing my suitcase and buying a ticket to Tokyo
Herro Flom Japan - Another racist foreigner blogs his hate of all things Japanese…
This foreigner calls his blog insultingly "Herro Flom Japan" - are to believe that he is not racist against the Japanese, or harbors hatred of all people? In one post he cheers on the Chinese soldiers as they gun down innocent Tibetans. It …
I think its just one of those things that Japanese people tell foreigners and we believe them… like I have kangaroos in my backyard…. (I'm from Australia)
[...] The FINAL word on used panty vending machines in Japan. ….Every misinformed Japanophile needs to learn the truth once and for all. 1. This is NOT a photo of a used panty vending machine: http://www.photomann.com/japan/machines/bizarrex.jpg I can't read all the text because of the low resolution of the photo and the big scratch on the face of the machine, but what I can read is, "ladies & mens brand new lingerie" in the center and "imported from USA" on the right. My guess is the machine was either in or near a love hotel. 2. Snopes is WRONG. (gasp!) The page reads, We'd read that this practice ended in 1993 and reported as much in the original of this article (which was penned in 2001), but since that time numerous readers living in Japan have written to say that not only haven't the machines gone away, but that they've themselves seen them. How many of those eyewitnesses could read enough Japanese to tell if a vending machine was selling new knickers or used ones? 3. It is illegal in many prefectures to sell schoolgirls' used panties. This Google search retrieves page after page of the laws in many prefectures that forbid the sale or purchase of used schoolgirl panties (even fake ones) anywhere, including in vending machines. Almost all of them use exactly the same wording. The average fine for breaking the law is 300,000 yen…… Sadly, this and other photo commonly seen on the Net are not "proof" in any way for the actual existence of these machines today. From http://www.angelfire.com/gundam/deadboy/panty.html __________________ "you can only like Japan if you make fun of it"—akatsuka . . . [...]
of how the rest of the country sees us. I love Bill Maher and catch Real Time as much as possible, but his conception of the South is like my conception of Japan. All I know comes from television, movies and the Internet. For me, Japan is a collage of used schoolgirl panty vending machines, katana battles and sleeping businessmen. The difference between myself and people like Maher is how aware I am of my own ignorance. Anyway, back to cornbread. Cornbread is good by itself, split and spread with butter or crumbled into milk as a cereal
"1. This is NOT a photo of a used panty vending machine:"
That doesn't mean they don't exist.
How many of those eyewitnesses could read enough Japanese to tell if a vending machine was selling new knickers or used ones?
Who knows? Presumably more than one?
"3. It is illegal in many prefectures to sell schoolgirls’ used panties."
That doesn't mean they don't exist. If anything, statutes specifically banning the sale of used panties suggests that lawmakers considered such sales a possibility at one point.
@BadPoints: Some people are going to believe what they believe no matter what–we didn't land on the moon, 9/11 was an inside job, there's a direct correlation between the war in Iraq and 9/11, the US government is hiding information about UFOs, etc.
Here's what I can tell you: I've been here 17 years and I've never seen a used panty vending machine. I've asked the police in Ikebukuro station and they said they've never heard of one. I've looked in every seedy part of Tokyo for them and haven't found one. I've never even seen a photo of one on the Internet. The only evidence of one existing is second or third hand stories on the Internet.
I explained why they're illegal. Back in the early 90's someone put one up in Chiba Prefecture. The public backlash was so great that the authorities figured out a way to make them illegal, and other prefectures followed their lead. End of story, but the beginning of a worldwide Internet legend.
i know for a fact that they sell used panties in Japan, I was just there last week and my friend bought a pair. also I saw a panty capsule machine bought it was in a store and you cat take pictures in stores in akihabara.
[...] Lingerie! Sale Ends 7/28. Sponsored by: JCPenney.com [Found on Ads by Yahoo!] 7. The FINAL word on used panty vending machines in Japan. » Herro …. That theres an unexploited market for used panty machines in Japan! What are you doing sitting [...]
@Eli: My friend tracked down the capsule machine of which you speak. He took a photo of it. The machine sells NEW panties for 300 yen. Used panties would cost far more than that.
[...] and friends were making a killing by peddling their skid-marked skivvies over the internet (source)But, there is still a market for used panties in sex shops all over Kabukicho and you can also buy [...]
And what about this?
http://www.visez.co.uk/2005/12/20/japfaq-japanese-used-knickers/
Picture is clear.
f3ti5h: They're not in a vending machine. Used: yes, in a machine: no.
OK, so what is it, a joke, urban legend?
http://www.youtubeniz.com/video/2DSHq44iBKg/The-Urban-Samurai–Episode-2 - there is a VM, I know, this is only funny movie but must be a reason why there is VM in this videoclip.
PS. Sorry for my bad English.
f3ti5h: Your English is better than my Polish ;-). That video was a work of fiction, so I don't think we can say for sure that the machine was real.
If there really were used panty vending machines in Japan, don't you think there would be many pictures of them on the Internet? People visiting Japan would take lots of pictures of them. I haven't found even one photo yet, and I've never seen a real one either, even though I've lived here since 1990.
About 2 years ago, I did see a used-panty vending machine hidden inside a disguised porn shop in Kokubunji, near Tokyo. I can read enough japanese to know that it was real, so yes, they do still exist. They're rare yes, they're against the law yes, but they also exist, yes.
Me: When you read the laws in most prefectures about selling adult goods in vending machines, there's sometimes a corollary: the vending machine has to be in an area, like a store, that's off limits to minors.
Lots of people seem to believe that you can quite easily go up to a vending machine out on the street in Japan and buy used panties from it. That's simply not true. It's an insult to Japan, not unlike the well-known but false rumor that homosexuals like to stuff live gerbils into their colon.
I'm a white guy who lived in Japan for a few years in the '90's, and I'm currently staying in Japan temporarily. I love this country, but they have just as many perverts here as we do in the USA. I don't know if you can actually buy used panties out of a vending machine, but you can buy darn near anything else out of a machine here in Japan (whiskey, dried fish, panty hose, batteries…) I'll tell you this, though, just because something is illegal in Japan doesn't mean it isn't done. I get propositioned by prostitutes all the time here but I can quote you the law that forbids it. Yesterday (12/1/07) in Tokyo's Akihabara district (schoolgirl-fettish capitol of the world) I saw a store selling panties in ziplock bags, each with a photo of a teenage girl tucked inside the package. The implication is that the girl pictured had worn the panties, but I didn't sniff them to find out. Also, I don't read Japanese, so I can't tell you if the packages said outright that they were used. So go ahead and quote all the Japanese laws you want, but remember that many laws are not enforced for various reasons.
According to the link that brought me here, your information comes from a cop telling you they don't currently exist and a russian guy telling you he has never seen one.
These sources do not seem to qualify you as putting in the 'Final Word'.
As much as I am sure Japan now treats you as a national hero for this post, I think I'll sway toward final words that include evidence in favor of their finding. Yours does contain some mild evidence against your own findings, but that's not enitrely the same thing.
On a side note, I do encourage you to go up to a policeman with a camera and ask him where you can buy soiled schoolgirl panties.
There is a site where you can mail order used little girl panties, complete with authentication photo to prove it's real. The girls are Thai, I assume the site is in Thailand.
How do I know this? Uuuuhm, it's not because I'm a satisfied customer, honest
[...] 06:49 PM snopes.com: The Love Machine The FINAL word on used panty vending machines in Japan. | Herro Flom Japan No legitimate sightings of such machines since 1993. They were ruled an illegal sale under the [...]
[...] and Secondhand Goods act. To break this law is an average fine of 300,000 yen (roughly $2800 US) The FINAL word on used panty vending machines in Japan. | Herro Flom Japan However, you can buy new underwear/lingerie from certain [...]