Japan is the global kingpin of vending machines. The tech-forward nation has embraced automated retailing for years, producing machines for desserts, clothing, gyoza and now – pizza.
The machine was designed and built in Italy by Claudio Torghele, who thought his fellow countrymen might like a quick and easy street pizza. He was wrong, but countries with less love for slow food traditions picked it up in a heartbeat. The Let’s Pizza machine is a hit in its Hiroshima home, where lines form into the early hours of the morning despite the nearby Dominos and Pizza Hutt.
The Let’s Pizza machine’s owners encourage users to grab a box for a night in. The pizzas take five minutes to cook, which is long enough to browse the DVD rental store next door. The machine churns out a freshly baked pizza in a box along with a pizza cutter to slice it with.
Let’s Pizza currently offers two flavours: the Margherita for 980 yen (NZD$13.25) and the Four Cheese for 1280 yen (NZD$15.30). The Four Cheese is a hit on Instagram, with consumers lauding the fact it tastes good despite being the product of full-automation.
The vending machine is located in front of the Tsutaya in Kusunoki, which is a 12-minute walk from Shin Hakushima Station. It runs all day, every day, and reportedly smells “really good” while cooking.
