Hi,
Jet lag from Japan is a serious health concern. It took me a full week to recover and finally get back on a normal sleeping schedule. I woke up one night thinking I was in a hotel in Japan only to realize that it was my apartment. Pure disappointment. It was an uncanny feeling I can’t describe.
I felt malaise returning from this trip. Probably because it was a really good trip. Returning made me dislike things about Toronto even more. Lack of public transportation. Too many (big) cars. Cost of living. Garbage everywhere. People being loud. Tipping. Lack of green space. Hideous architecture. I could go on.
Japan is far from perfect. Work culture. Homogeneity. Loneliness. LGBTQ+ rights (it’s slow). But they do a lot of things really well. Public transportation. Small cars. Green space. Architecture. Vegan food. And vending machines. Yes, vending machines.
Vending machines are everywhere. They’re placed on every street. At every corner. In every hotel. At all metro stations. In front of homes. You can get food. Toys. Cigarettes. Alcohol. And copious amounts of hot and cold drinks. It’s pure joy to stumble on a vending machine and see what it’s stocked with.
For this trip, I sought to capture the lives of vending machines in Japan. Yes, they are sentient and full of personality.
Bonus:
Not necessarily a vending machine, but you can get a headshot at almost every corner.