Handwritten schoolgirl love letters available from Japanese vending machines

The visitor to Japan quickly notes the large number of vending machines everywhere.

They are typically just for drinks but there are more unusual ones around. And this now includes gachapon capsule-style vending machines that offer sealed love letters from schoolgirls.

Shocked? You shouldn’t be. After all, in Japan you can get refrigerated used panties from vending machines as well as Tenga and even prostitutes.

We can’t speak for the veracity of the love letters, which cost ¥200 a pop, but they are written by hand and ostensibly from a young girl called Kiki.

One enterprising blogger has created a translation of the letters. Here is one.

It’s me Kiki, the girl who sits next to you.
Thank you for lending me your CD. We always have so much in common with our favorite music and things. I’ve been listening nonstop to the band you recommended to me the other day! I really like it (><) ♪ I heard they’re going to have a concert soon. I want to go, but just going by myself would be lonely. Do you want to come with me?? If you don’t want to that's perfectly fine! But, if you do want to go together, maybe we could have a really fun time! Since we only ever talk at school, I always think of things I want to tell you when I get home lol. So maybe we could do other things together, not just the concert, but like go to karaoke or out to eat after school! I have a ton of other things I want to tell you. Tell me your answer tomorrow. Oh, and don't forget your textbook tomorrow! I’m not gonna let you borrow mine anymore lol Kiki

We’re not sure how long this service has been available but we imagine similar things have been around for some time. It was recently spotted and shared on Twitter by @higebozu72.

If you want to get your hands on a love letter from Kiki, head to Nagoya and the Osu branch of Capsule House.