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I went to a ramen place in Tokyo and to order ramen you had to insert money and place your order via this machine. This felt like going back to the early 90s but in a way that we are definitely not used to in western countries. It had a very retro futuristic vibe!
Anything that’s clicks and whirrs is so fascinating to me. Don’t see much of that in the digital age
I enjoy watching technology connections!
Something I really miss is like the movement, especially of audio technologies
One of my faves, plus LGR and Techmoan.
Have you checked out RetroBytes or This Does Not Compute?
I love old tech, it feels more "natural" in a way. Curious about how people will view "nature" in a thousand years or so, perhaps finding comfort within the technology we have today.
I found that so curious in Tokyo, even some hole-in-the-wall food shops would use the ticket system when the attendant is standing right next to the ticketing machine!
But, it is ubiquitous over there.
Weirdest thing I saw over there was deep fried sparrows.
Or the garden shop I went into had a (poor thing) monkey in a large cage who jacked off furiously and threw it at me.
Oh Tokyo, from one extreme to the other!
Sometimes it's a matter of necessity:
For tech-weary Midwest farmers, 40-year-old tractors now a hot commodity
I've been to that ramen place! Wayne Gretzky's signature is on one of the walls in that place. The ramen is great too
Yes it's great! A tiny place in the Golden Gai area :)
If you don't mind sharing, what's the name of this place?
I had a one day transit through Japan not too long ago. We made our way to the Golden Gai area and had some absolutely delicious niboshi ramen too! The place we went to is named Ramen Nagi.
And of course, it uses a ticketing machine just like this picture! =D
It is Ramen Nagi! They specialize in a fish broth ramen and it's pretty good!
In Kyūshū I saw a supermarket have out a public rotary dial telephone. It was in a relatively new supermarket. The supermarket even published diagrams instructing people on how to use it, right next to the phone, to demonstrate that these almost-obsolete devices still had utility in 2018.
If you're into learning about history and inner workings of retro electrical components, Fran Blanche has a great channel on YouTube! Personally, the nixie tubes and other retro displays/indicators are my favorite.
Was the machine just to order the food or did it cook it as well?
Typically these machines will give you a ticket, that you then hand to an employee.
Osaka was also a wonderful and eclectic mix of future and retro tech.
I want to Know what hides behind "Ramen book"
I love vintage technology. I have a collection of controllers from various consoles, and too many handhelds.
I have a major soft spot for old flip phones, to the point where I currently have a z flip 4 and have a theme on it that makes it look more retro
There's something satisfying about flipping or sliding a phone. I have a Z Fold 3, and I love it, but sometimes I miss my Razr, or my sliding dumb phone with a qwerty keyboard.
Still carrying a droid 4...
Yes! There’s the vibe of course, but there’s also being able to open it up and fix it… if it even breaks at all.
Also, the satisfaction from opening up an old piece of tech and fixing it is just amazing. It sucks that a lot of stuff you buy nowadays is a single instance.
What's a ramen book? Is that what some people call the little flavor packets?
When I visit a new country I always take a look at what mildly iconic retro items it maintains that I don’t find back home, for example the KiHa 40 trains in rural Japan, or the old Citroen cars in France, or the BBC microcomputers in the UK, among others.
I love it when you have physical buttons you can push. The rebound and the knack-knack sound are nothing replaceable by touch screens.
I used to live in a city which had a nice café filled with a lot of (inactive) retro vending machines, like for chewing gums or boxes of matches, that was an interesting atmosphere
I do like retro tech i find it interesting and annoying at the same time but i like old consoles and computers and unique things.
Unique as in, only one left?