AFP presents a photo package of 12 pictures of "coin laundry" shops in Tokyo.

In everyday life, from convenient stores to 24-hour accessible laundromats, local shops still manage to provide services to help keep society functioning smoothly. According to media reports, there are over 20,000 "coin-operated laundries" across Japan, doubling in the last two decades.

Often found in clusters in many city neighbourhoods, aside from the usual services, they provide speciality machines for cleaning sneakers, pillows and heavy blankets. The industry even holds an annual coin-operated laundry expo to showcase the latest technology and products.