Shiso sour, damn that sounds fun. Ever tried a shikuwasa sour? That’s peak Okinawa.
Indeed, countless ramenya, and cheaper soba/udon restaurants worship the vending machine ticketing system. (too many dine-and-dashers?)
But there are also vendos where you can get ramen right then and there. Don’t have a photo right now, but I’m a searchin’ everyday for more vm madness.
Are they different varieties (bc they all look the same)?
To which ones are you referring?
Generally speaking, a single vending machine will have a variety of drinks/foods/whatever the heck else.
Occasionally, there’s a one-trick pony – e.g. the apple juice in Aomori – but it’s more because that region is the Japanese producer of {apples}. I believe there would be more varieties once it’s the season.
(I’m not sure which post you’re replying to, so I presumed it to be the apple one.)
Not yet! I will add it to my list!
Yes, the apple post. Thanks for clarifying!
I took a few photos of the apples in this post.
Dems apples are from Nagano 
eta: Shinshu (信州) is an historic name for present-day Nagano prefecture.
Powdered green tea, deceptively sold in boxes similar to cigarette packs.
(The name, Chabacco, comes from cha-bako/茶箱, or tea box.)
I remember buying cans of hot coffee from a vending machine when we were there - the dang things were so hot we couldn’t hold them.
One of my travel tips for Japan was to carry a bandana to be able to hold the vending machine coffee cans. (It’s a useful item in general.) Another was a compass to find your way out of the department stores.
My phone battery kept dying so I had a lot of fun navigating the department stores and subway, and getting back to my hotel without Google Maps.
We went in 1994, so cellphones were not yet a thing.
Japan was my last international trip, in January 2020. I relied on my cell phone a lot for navigation and translation.
Ringer Hut is a Japanese chain specializing in Nagasaki champon, a ramen dish with creamy sauce, vegetables, seafood, and meat.
This vending machine has that, filet katsu sandwiches, dumplings, and fried rice.
Knowing the typical Japanese palette, this is just regular mild hot sauce. 
