Concrete Playground

If Father Christmas was Japanese, what would he look like? That's the question Spanish company Muji (well-known maker of cute things) have been asking themselves lately. In light of the fact that in Japan there's one vending machine for every twenty people, they found their answer in the form of the jolliest, red robotic vending machine you ever did see.

Muji have been bringing all things Japanese to the rest of the world for some time, but this year marks the first that they've given us a Japanese Christmas. The holiday isn't quite the same there, with some different traditions; for example, Christmas Eve is generally the night couples visit 'love hotels' to celebrate their togetherness. Somewhat different to eating pudding and roasted animals and getting drunk with your relations.

All through the Christmas period, Muji's Noel Machine has been roaming the streets of Barcelona and Madrid, bestowing robotic Christmas cheer upon the wintery Spanish cities (I know, who would have thought Spain ever got cold). The machine looks like a shifty-eyed anime Santa Claus, and dispenses a range of Christmas-related gifts in the form of the lazy-man's answer to Christmas shopping.

[Via Lost At E Minor]