“Roadside Lights” by Eiji OHASHI — Capturing the Solitary Glowing Appliances of Japan After Dark

Following after the last post (Video Game Soda Machine Project), I remembered this cool photo series by Hokkaido photographer Eiji Ohashi. Vending machines in Japan are more ubiquitous (found everywhere) than they are in most other parts of the world (like here in NZ), which is no doubt why when I first saw these pictures, I really liked them:

Japan has the highest concentration of vending machines per person (there’s roughly 1 vending machine for every 23 people in Japan) and the fact that the majority of them are outdoors is a testament to the country’s safety and respect for property. Very rarely are these machines ever vandalized.

Juxtaposed with the landscape of Japan, these images are visually striking.

One snowy night, Ohashi was walking outside when he found himself transfixed by the form of snow that had piled up on top of a vending machine.

Ohashi has spent the nine years since then obsessively shooting starkly beautiful Japanese landscapes, usually in the dead of night, that are “populated” only by vending machines yet offer perspicacious comment on the human condition. […]

“Life in Japan has become extremely convenient, but still there seems no end to the pursuit of greater comfort,” he tells The Japan Times. “That quest continues relentlessly, but we don’t need this degree of convenience in order to live. Rather, having achieved this level of comfort, we should now be asking what is the true essence of happiness.” ~ JapanTimes

The collection of Ohashi’s photographs are also available as a photobook. …Since it is sort of related; I tried Calpis for the first time this year (thanks Shizuka) and I love the stuff!