Japan is a vending machine paradise. They're ubiquitous -- on streets, train platforms, even at the top of Mount Fuji -- and sell about everything.

Vending machines have become a daily necessity for busy people on the go, like Nobukazu Serikawa, a 35-year-old company employee who buys drinks out of machines three or four times a day.

"When I go to the office every morning, I buy a drink from the machine downstairs," Serikawa said, buying a can of hot coffee near JR Yurakucho Station in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward. "I don't want to waste time going to a convenience store, so I can't do without them."