At slightly over 5 million nationwide, vending machines are everywhere in Japan.
They are on nearly every block in Tokyo and dotted across even the most spartan landscapes in the country's vast rural expanse.
Photographer Eiji Ohashi began documenting Japan's vending machines nearly a decade ago after getting caught in a blizzard in his native region of Hokkaido. He navigated home using only the lights from the vending machines, which are often placed on the roadside.
Since, he has come to see the vending machines as a symbol of modern Japan — full of convenience, safety, and loneliness.
Ohashi shared some photos of the strangest places he's found vending machines with Business Insider here, but you can see more in his books Roadside Lights and Being There.
There is approximately 1 vending machine per every 23 people in Japan, with annual sales totaling more than $60 billion.
Source: Business Insider
They can be found just about everywhere: down alleyways, in front of convenience stores and road stops, and even in the remotest places.
The vending machines offer a wide variety of products from expected fare like soft drinks and coffee to rice, batteries, junk food, noodles, and even glasses.
Source: DramaFever
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