Shokken is a food voucher vending system that many small Japanese fast-food restaurants uses. The system is simple, you choose what you want to eat listed on the machine and pay. The machine spits out the voucher which you can take it to your table or food ordering counter. They take half the ticket and you keep the other half.

When the food is ready, you give them your half to exchange with your food. It is a very simple and effective ordering system. It will save restaurant the time and money by eliminating the food order taking processes. Also, many or credit card never exchange hands with the employees making it more secure.

Bunglers are less likely to attack establishments use Shokken system because all cash are stored in the machine which is not easy to break in. The only draw back is the fact that the establishment looks very cheap.

However that is changing. In the US, in addition to the food ordering counter at McDonald’s, there are kiosks that you can use to place an order. That can be considered an evolution of for ordering. Whether you like it or not, machines will be taking your order as it has been for many years in Japan.