Photographer Eiji Ohashi captures vending machines as solitary beacons across Japan’s frozen landscapes. | Photo: Eiji Ohashi
One lost moment during a blizzard on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido turned into a nine-year visual exploration for Photographer Eiji Ohashi. According to Instagram account @therealnuttle which shares various forms of art from creators around the globe, the Japanese photographer once found his way back to safety during an intense snowstorm in Hokkaido after being guided by the warm glow of a lone vending machine in the night. That encounter became the spark behind his Roadside Lights project, a haunting lens into Japan’s vending machines set against secluded backdrops.
Ohashi has spent nearly a decade photographing these machines as fixtures of solitude—lit, sometimes half-buried in snow, or standing in silent fields. In his images, each machine becomes a character: unshakeable, quietly luminous, and ever-present in the wilderness.
He likens them to modern shrines—not in a traditional religious sense, but as symbols of resilience and constancy. They’re always there—even when nothing else is.
Drawing attention to the everyday magic of vending machines—ubiquitous in Japan but rarely seen in such remote locations—Ohashi’s work has been shared widely on Instagram under the title Roadside Lights. The series resonates for its contrast: the comforting familiarity of neon warmth against the stark cold of untamed landscapes.
AloJapan.com