Japanese Milk Delivery Boxes

For many western countries, doorstep milk delivery is a thing of the past, but in Japan, millions of people still rely on the milkman for fresh milk everyday. Many traditional Japanese homes have milk delivery boxes, which are wooden boxes nailed outside the house where the milkman can drop bottles or cartons of milk—just like postmen drop mails in the mailbox. Some of the newer boxes are made of plastic and has Styrofoam insulation on the inside. Some milk shops even include a recyclable coolant pack with each delivery to keep the milk cold.

“Home delivery of dairy products, such as milk and yogurt, is a service that surprisingly is still available even these days thanks to the marketing efforts of the milk companies to combat lack of consumer interest which had been dwindling throughout the 1980s,” states an article on Phantom River Stone.

 According to news report from the Japan Times published in 2003, one of the large dairy companies at that time, Meiji Dairies, had succeeded in reversing the trend and managed to double deliveries made over the prior ten-year period.