
Need to get up with the chickens? Leave it to the men who’re already awake and hauling in fish.
By this point, you’d think that technology would have advanced to the point where oversleeping is no longer problem for anyone in society. Between smartphone alarm settings, vibrating earphones to rouse you from slumber, and alarm clocks meant to bring you out of sleep with nostalgic memories of childhood, hopping out of bed at the necessary time should be a snap, right?
All of those methods are missing something, though: the human element. When you’re dealing with a machine, it’s all too easy to hit the snooze button or flip the off switch, then accidentally oversleep.
So what you really need is someone to wake you up, no matter how early you need to get out of bed. And you know who absolutely is going to be up before you, and thus in a position to do the job? A professional fisherman.
▼ “While you’re still dreaming, the fishermen’s battle has already begun.”
The just-launched Fisherman Call is billed as “The world’s first wake-up call service by fishermen.” On the service’s website, you’ll find a list of available fishermen, along with their photos, voice samples, and schedules, which have some of them getting up at 2 in the morning to make their way to the harbor and head for open water.
That crack-of-dawn schedule is key, because as shown in the Fisherman Call promotional video, the wake-up messages aren’t pre-recorded. The fishermen will actually be calling and talking to you live, quite possibly from the deck of their vessels.
“Good morning! Are you up?” asks the fisherman in the video, to which the user replies “Yes, thanks to you. Are you on your ship?” “Yeah, I got up at 3, so I’m already on the sea,” he replies, before adding “I caught a really big fish.”
Ironically for service with a nautical theme, the Fisherman Call website is a little hard to navigate. Stylized to look like a smartphone even when accessing it with a PC, you’ll need to place your cursor over the image shown on the on-screen “phone,” then scroll or drag down. Eventually you’ll come to the fisherman, and when you’ve picked out who you want a wakeup call from, you’ll need to check the box agreeing to the terms and click the “この漁師に起こしてもらう!” (“Have this fisherman wake me up!”) button.
From there, you’ll be taken to a request form in which to enter the hoped-for date and time of your call as well as your phone number. The form also says “If you’ve been having any worries, please tell us,” implying that if you’ve got something weighing on your spirit, the fishermen might give you some sea-sourced advice on how to deal with it.
The Fisherman Call website can be found here, and now has us wondering how the fishermen themselves manage to get up so early.
Related: Fisherman Call official website
Top image: Fisherman Call
Insert images: YouTube/FISHERMAN JAPAN, Fisherman Call
[ Read in Japanese ]
Odds are you’ll be up before Casey, but you can follow him on Twitter anyway.




Japanese “mommy” team gives wake-up calls to adults so they won’t be late for work【Video】
Have trouble waking up on time? New Japanese app Mezamee will charge you when you sleep in
Picking seaweed up off the beach and taking it home is illegal in most of Japan, and here’s why
Start your day with a wake up call from Re:Zero’s Emilia or Rem!
Otaku parenting: Loving mom shocks daughter out of bed cosplay-style
Wisteria season starts early with blooming of Japan’s Great Wisteria in its beautiful garden
Final version of Sanrio: Beginning of Kawaii exhibition opens in Tokyo[Photos]
Japan has new rules for bicycle riders, and these 14 things could get you a fine or a court date
Japan’s best conveyor belt sushi restaurant of seven years ago has now, finally, come to Tokyo
Escape from downtown Tokyo! How far from the city center can you get by rental bike in 8 hours?
Turn a rainy forecast into a blast at the Naruto & Boruto Ninja Village May Rain Festival 2026
Death Spray from Japan causes buzz online for powerful ability to cut ties with bad energy
Japanese bento shop sells croquettes for 13 cents, but are they any good?
Japanese government wants overseas anime market to roughly triple in 10 years, but are they crazy?
Who makes Japan’s best Spam-style onigiri convenience store rice ball? Let’s find out【Taste test】
Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa
Mt. Fuji decorated with a 500,000-flower pink carpet is Japan’s ultimate spring view
Lawson convenience store at popular tourist site is one of the most unusual in Japan
Japanese trains in Sapporo might be better than those in Tokyo, thanks to one special feature
30 Pikachus want to share a Tokyo hotel room with you that has separate Grass, Water, Fire spaces
Man bites woman at cherry blossom park in Japan, dies shortly after
Starbucks Japan releases FIVE new Frappuccinos in a day, and we try them all in 90 minutes
Howl’s Moving Castle’s scene-stealing dog is here to clean your home as a plushie mop
Pokémon and Ikea Japan cross over into each other’s worlds with collaboration events
Japan now has a special desk for people who work at home with a pet cat[Photos]
Famous Tokyo cherry blossom spot installs view-blocking screens to fight overcrowding[Video]
Uniqlo announces new T-shirts for One Piece, Naruto and more for manga publisher’s 100th birthday
Train station platform ramen store closes its doors on half a century of history in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new My Fruit³ Frappuccino at only 34 stores around the country
Krispy Kreme releases Super Mario doughnuts in Japan for a limited time
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your home
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
Under Its au Brand, Japanese Cellular Service Provider KDDI Unveils World’s Largest and Highest Resolution Smartphone
Japanese genius invents a machine just to help you get out of unwanted video chats【Video】
Japan’s new fruit sandwiches turn the concept inside-out, we make them even better【SoraKitchen】