Tired in Japan. The national pastime. People seem to go out of their way to show how sleepy and tired they are because they want to appear to be "gambaru-ing". That's why every high school student's favorite hobby is "sleeping."
Drinking beers with your work mates daily, surfing the Net till 2 AM and living with Mom and Dad does this. I have worked in and around Japanese companies (sales, plants) and I came to the conclusion that they work about four hours a day and rest is cat napping at lunch, smoking, writing to your mate who is doing the same thing on the mobile and checking the mirror. Cool thing is...you can pull this public snoozing stunt and not get robbed here lol...
Can you just imagine the chap in the front, wakes up & is in a hurry to get to his office ONLY to find one, the right leg has gone to sleep. I know what it means, but no office for me at the 80s, BUT I know what it is like to find a leg over the other can go to sleep on you & takes a while to start to operate correctly.
How tired do you have to be to sit in a public park like that? Does the man have no pride? Much better to be seen flat on your back sound asleep then sitting in public twisted up like a pretzel. He looks effeminate.
I have seen some incredible sleeping forms, standing, lying, but balancing on a concrete 'stool'? Is he really asleep, napping? He's gotta fall off... The othe rguy is out cold. Brilliant.
I love how the locals can catch 40 winks anywhere at any time in any position. Is this an innate thing or something they learn at school. Sure, appearing to be tired is considered a sign of your hard working etc, but even when i appear to be tired I couldn't sleep like the bloke on the right of picture
If you want to take a nap, at least do it with style ;-) It is part of the southern European culture too to take naps during weekdays. Some studies showed that taking a 20/30 min nap just after lunch can increase productivity in the workplace. Some progressive companies now allow their employees taking nap or relax time in a dedicated room. Even if your companies does not do this, there are some nice parks (even in Tokyo, even though they tend to be over-concreted) where you can get a drink, read a book or sleep for 20 min before you go back to work.
20/30 min nap just after lunch can increase productivity in the workplace.
That's the last thing they want. How could they justify needing 14 hours to do a day's work if they were working productively? This is all part of the Noh Drama of Sararimanhood. In other countries, they call it "going to work". Here it must be a display of a daily battle against insurmountable odds.
About 30 to 60mins after eating most people will hit the wall energy wise and catching a 10 to 20min power nap does wonders but try and sell that to "Big Business Inc."
I wonder how many μSv they are being exposed to during their outdoor naptime
According to the Min of Ed, 0.63 μSv/h - well within normal background radiation levels for Tokyo, and way lower than places like Hong Kong (0.14) and Cornwall (1.0). NY will get you 0.095 μSv/h, about the same as Singapore.
Shame, shame on you for taking a nap in a park during your lunch break! You should spend your time surfing the net and using up more electricity! Get back in your office!
37 Comments
Login to comment
asianTourist
It is a sad picture.
Maria
aah! Quick lie-down during a warm spring lunchtime?
Serrano
It is not a sad picture, it is a restful picture. The guy on the left definitely has a better position than the other guy.
papigiulio
hahaha nice!
sf2k
One guy making do with the commuter train position. Handy anywhere
paulinusa
Down and out.
MrDog
People have no shame, like the guy on the left. I bet his mouth is wide open and snoring like a hog.
Maitake
Karoushi!
ihavegreatlegs
Maybe they live there.
Gurukun
Wow, how tired do you got to be to pass out like both of them?
Noripinhead
Tired in Japan. The national pastime. People seem to go out of their way to show how sleepy and tired they are because they want to appear to be "gambaru-ing". That's why every high school student's favorite hobby is "sleeping."
sf2k
air traffic controller on the left, and his ever present subordinate-trainee
gogogo
Typical salary man, sleeps during the day, says in meetings and busy busy all day to company, works 5 hours overtime... gets promoted.
my2sense
Drinking beers with your work mates daily, surfing the Net till 2 AM and living with Mom and Dad does this. I have worked in and around Japanese companies (sales, plants) and I came to the conclusion that they work about four hours a day and rest is cat napping at lunch, smoking, writing to your mate who is doing the same thing on the mobile and checking the mirror. Cool thing is...you can pull this public snoozing stunt and not get robbed here lol...
Smythe
Can you just imagine the chap in the front, wakes up & is in a hurry to get to his office ONLY to find one, the right leg has gone to sleep. I know what it means, but no office for me at the 80s, BUT I know what it is like to find a leg over the other can go to sleep on you & takes a while to start to operate correctly.
Wolfpack
How tired do you have to be to sit in a public park like that? Does the man have no pride? Much better to be seen flat on your back sound asleep then sitting in public twisted up like a pretzel. He looks effeminate.
sf2k
maybe it's an art piece: Parkmen. They're certainly dedicated
combinibento
For Chrissakes, how hard can it really be to just take a day off for once in this country?!
nath
Not very accommodating chairs!
kokorocloud
This made me want to take a nap. Seems pleasant to me.
goddog
I love napping. Plan on doing it 10 minutes from now.
YongYang
I have seen some incredible sleeping forms, standing, lying, but balancing on a concrete 'stool'? Is he really asleep, napping? He's gotta fall off... The othe rguy is out cold. Brilliant.
retaliator
The lite version of "two men resting on a traffic island on an early Sunday morning".
IvanCoughalot
Ah, the legendary joy of the Japanese worker.
cactusJack
Just title the photo "I hate hangovers" and be done with it.
Mittsu
I love how the locals can catch 40 winks anywhere at any time in any position. Is this an innate thing or something they learn at school. Sure, appearing to be tired is considered a sign of your hard working etc, but even when i appear to be tired I couldn't sleep like the bloke on the right of picture
Piglet
If you want to take a nap, at least do it with style ;-) It is part of the southern European culture too to take naps during weekdays. Some studies showed that taking a 20/30 min nap just after lunch can increase productivity in the workplace. Some progressive companies now allow their employees taking nap or relax time in a dedicated room. Even if your companies does not do this, there are some nice parks (even in Tokyo, even though they tend to be over-concreted) where you can get a drink, read a book or sleep for 20 min before you go back to work.
IvanCoughalot
That's the last thing they want. How could they justify needing 14 hours to do a day's work if they were working productively? This is all part of the Noh Drama of Sararimanhood. In other countries, they call it "going to work". Here it must be a display of a daily battle against insurmountable odds.
kujiranikusuki
its called sleep. losers. get some!
KnowBetter
About 30 to 60mins after eating most people will hit the wall energy wise and catching a 10 to 20min power nap does wonders but try and sell that to "Big Business Inc."
lucabrasi
I hear ya. British Airways wouldn't listen to me, though, when I tried to explain. Hell, we were still on the tarmac!
nath
I wonder how many μSv they are being exposed to during their outdoor naptime. I guess TEPCO can tell us all.
cleo
According to the Min of Ed, 0.63 μSv/h - well within normal background radiation levels for Tokyo, and way lower than places like Hong Kong (0.14) and Cornwall (1.0). NY will get you 0.095 μSv/h, about the same as Singapore.
bicultural
Shame, shame on you for taking a nap in a park during your lunch break! You should spend your time surfing the net and using up more electricity! Get back in your office!
sf2k
I think this should be immortalized in sculpture
IvanCoughalot
Cleo - how is 0.14 more than 0.63?
cleo
Ooops! that should be 0.063.
h t t p : / / radiationdotgoodotnedotjp/