TOKYO – There is the Good Life. There is the Hard Knock Life. And, if there’s no such thing as the perfect life, there is something that comes close, something that Japanese citizens understand, use frequently and love. It’s the Vending Machine Life, and it’s cheap, convenient, versatile and, ultimately, glorious. If there is a heaven for slovenly sportswriters, it would look a lot like the streets of this bustling, machines-every-few-feet metropolis.
Hence the plan: spend one day at the Olympics, before the sports truly get cranking, and lean into the vending machine existence. Study them.