Photographer Eiji Ohashi has spent nine years capturing vending machines in remote and sparsely populated locations on his native island of Hokkaido and across Japan. His best shots have been brought together in a book titled "<a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sapporo-creation.com%2Fpublishing" target="_blank" target="_blank">Roadside Lights.</a>"
Urakawa Town, Hokkaido —
Photographer Eiji Ohashi has spent nine years capturing vending machines in remote and sparsely populated locations on his native island of Hokkaido and across Japan. His best shots have been brought together in a book titled "Roadside Lights."
Eiji Ohashi
"Ohashi was born in Wakkanai, the northernmost city in Japan. At the opposite end of the island, on the southern tip, sits Urakawa, a town with a population density of just 18 people per square kilometer: "There are vending machines in places that make one wonder if a customer will ever come."
Mt. Fuji —
"Ohashi was born in Wakkanai, the northernmost city in Japan. At the opposite end of the island, on the southern tip, sits Urakawa, a town with a population density of just 18 people per square kilometer: "There are vending machines in places that make one wonder if a customer will ever come."
Eiji Ohashi
This photo was taken on the night of Dec. 24, 2016: "There was heavy snow in Sapporo that day for the first time in 60 years, and all transportation was stopped," said Ohashi.
Sapporo City, Hokkaido —
This photo was taken on the night of Dec. 24, 2016: "There was heavy snow in Sapporo that day for the first time in 60 years, and all transportation was stopped," said Ohashi.
Eiji Ohashi
This photo, which shows Mount Yotei in the background, is Ohashi's favorite from the collection: "It paints a very lonely image. There were two vending machines previously in this place, but profits were low and one was removed. I think in some ways I'm comparing modern-day people to vending machines. In our daily lives, we are also like vending machines that can withstand blizzards but ultimately go unrewarded."
Kutchan Town, Hokkaido —
This photo, which shows Mount Yotei in the background, is Ohashi's favorite from the collection: "It paints a very lonely image. There were two vending machines previously in this place, but profits were low and one was removed. I think in some ways I'm comparing modern-day people to vending machines. In our daily lives, we are also like vending machines that can withstand blizzards but ultimately go unrewarded."
Eiji Ohashi
This scene is from the city of Isahaya, near Nagasaki at the southern-most tip of Japan's mainland: "It's a scenery of late night road, where cars don't pass too often."
Isahaya City, Nagasaki Prefecture —
This scene is from the city of Isahaya, near Nagasaki at the southern-most tip of Japan's mainland: "It's a scenery of late night road, where cars don't pass too often."
Eiji Ohashi
Sapporo is the capital of Hokkaido and the fifth largest city in Japan, with a population of about 2 million and a density of 1,700 people per square kilometer. This particular vending machine sits next to a store that was first opened 100 years ago, juxtaposing the old and the new.
Sapporo City, Hokkaido —
Sapporo is the capital of Hokkaido and the fifth largest city in Japan, with a population of about 2 million and a density of 1,700 people per square kilometer. This particular vending machine sits next to a store that was first opened 100 years ago, juxtaposing the old and the new.
Eiji Ohashi
Because vending machines are so ubiquitous in Japan, they can often be found in unexpected places -- like beside shrines.
Urakawa Town, Hokkaido —
Because vending machines are so ubiquitous in Japan, they can often be found in unexpected places -- like beside shrines.
Eiji Ohashi
A vending machine outside a liquor store in the small town of Mino, in central Japan.
Kino Mino Town, Wakayama Prefecture —
A vending machine outside a liquor store in the small town of Mino, in central Japan.
Eiji Ohashi
"Sapporo city center at midnight. Everyone is sleeping, but vending machines are working," said Ohashi.
Sapporo City, Hokkaido —
"Sapporo city center at midnight. Everyone is sleeping, but vending machines are working," said Ohashi.
Eiji Ohashi
Otaru is a port city northwest of Sapporo, and a popular tourist destination: "The machine is working while buried in the snow at the roadside of the national highway."
Otaru City, Hokkaido —
Otaru is a port city northwest of Sapporo, and a popular tourist destination: "The machine is working while buried in the snow at the roadside of the national highway."
Eiji Ohashi
Unlike in most Western countries, the majority of Japan's vending machines are located outdoors.
Urasa-cho, Hokkaido —
Unlike in most Western countries, the majority of Japan's vending machines are located outdoors.
Eiji Ohashi
Vending machines with Osaka Castle in the background.
Osaka City, Osaka-fu —
Vending machines with Osaka Castle in the background.
Eiji Ohashi
"I think that we're always thinking of ways to make life more convenient," Ohashi said. "I think that the vending machine is a symbol of that."
Ebetsu City, Hokkaido —
"I think that we're always thinking of ways to make life more convenient," Ohashi said. "I think that the vending machine is a symbol of that."
Eiji Ohashi