Next time you’re ready to crack open a cold one, stop what you’re doing, hop on a plane to Japan, and check out an all-you-can-drink buffet outfitted with a self-pouring beer machine.
Specifically, the one that Redditor Scramble187 visited looks quite enticing. It’s at a shabu-shabu (hot pot) restaurant chain called Sato, as the user shared in the original Reddit thread.
The process is simple. First, you grab a frosty mug out of a refrigerator, then place the mug in the awesome beer machine. Next, you wait for the machine to fill up the chilled mug with the golden nectar of the alcohol gods—depending on what’s on tap, of course. The machine works very quickly, too! Not much waiting involved here.
After that, you watch the foam be added at the top for an authentic beer experience. It needs a decent head, after all. Finally, you can remove the beer from the machine and down it. Kampai! Then you go back again, obviously.
The concept is called “nomihodai,” and locations like this can be found all around Japan, serving varying types of food and beverages, especially beer.
Honestly, there needs to be an automated beer machine that we can hit up in the West. Why aren’t these things more ubiquitous? Think about how much fun they’d be. Many people on Reddit are over the moon for this cool little gadget.
Of course, some folks don’t appreciate convenience when they see it.
https://twitter.com/mrlxc/status/1035292558249709568
Whether you appreciate the machine or not, you’ve got to hand it to this restaurant: This is a very cool way to keep customers coming back. And it’s only one example of all the interesting technologies utilized by Japanese retail locations and restaurants.
Looks like a trip to Japan should soon be in the cards for beer fans looking to get their next fix.