Tim Easley's new book shares photographs of the weird and wonderful world of Japanese vending machines

It was an obsession that began two decades ago when he visited Tokyo for the first time, discovering the weird and wonderful world of vending machines – machines that can be owned or rented by anyone, as a way to make a little extra cash, and there are no regulations as to where they should be.

Over the last 20 years, following various return trips back to Japan, Tim has photographed and documented hundreds of vending machines – many of which have been brought together for Vend, his new book containing more than 50 full-colour photographs spread over 120 pages, along with his personal experiences of this ubiquitous but cool and weird culture.

But it wasn't always this way: Tim has bad memories of an unreliable vending machine in school, one that used to steal lunch money on a regular basis. It wasn't until the '90s on that first trip to Japan that he started to see vending machines in a positive light. In the book's foreword, Tim writes: "Vending machines that actually worked. Vending machines with hot drinks. Vending machines with beer. Vending machines with t-shirts. It was paradise. Anywhere you went, whether it was up a mountain or inside a train, you could buy a cold drink, they were reasonably priced, and they were always fully stocked. I couldn't believe it."

You can grab yourself a copy via Tim's website: timeasley.com.