Japanese genius creates concept of the ultimate nap chamber

Who needs a bed when you can recreate Japan’s favorite place to take a nap?

In Japanese, the word used for “lunch break” is hiruyasumi. Literally, though, hiruyasumi translates as “midday break,” reflecting the fact that if you’re not spending the entire hour stuffing your face, you might use some of that time for something else like, say, catching a few Zs.

But Japanese Twitter user @buhibuhiuhohoho’s midday power nap ambitions don’t usually turn out as well as he’d like. If he leans forward and half-sprawls out on his office desk, the awkward position means he wakes up feeling less rested than he did before his nap. Leaning back in his chair isn’t a good technique either, since the lack of neck support means he’s likely to end up dealing with a painful crick for the second half of his work shift.

So @buhibuhiuhohoho did some thinking, and he’s come up with a concept for what looks like just about the perfect nap chamber.

The exterior view looks a lot like the telework/video conference booths you sometimes see in train stations, airports, and other travel hubs. Open up the door, though, and what’s waiting inside isn’t a miniature office or studio…

…but a compact copy of a commuter train.

Specifically, @buhibuhiuhohoho’s nap booth concept is inspired by the bench seat section at the corner of Japan’s commuter trains. As anyone who’s spent much time on trains in Japan has seen, they’re one of the country’s favorite places to take a nap. Office workers, students, and partiers all routinely doze off on trains. It may seem like a risky place to sleep, but Japan’s low crime rate mean there’s little fear of being pickpocketed or having your bag stolen, and the precise punctuality of the public transportation system makes it easy for your internal clock to wake you up before arriving at your stop after you’ve become accustomed to your commute.

The corner bench is generally the best spot to nap in, and @buhibuhiuhohoho’s concept art details a number of great features the nap pod would recreate: ergonomically shaped seats, partition to rest your head against if you want to sleep leaning to the side, window compartment to rest your head against if you want to sleep leaning back, parcel shelf, and hand straps for those who want to sleep standing up (that last one is a high-level train napping style, but one that you’ll still occasionally see people doing in Japan).

“If they had rental spaces like this in the station or somewhere, I’d use them all the time,” tweets @buhibuhiuhohoho. Other Twitter users have wholeheartedly agreed, while also suggesting a few extra amenities they’d like the booth to have.

“I think there’s a market for a deluxe version with train sounds and a gentle swaying to the seat.”
“You could have multiple settings to match the vibrations of different real-world train lines.”
“For the wake-up alarm, I’d like a voice that says ‘All passengers, last stop coming up!’”
“To set the alarm, it could have you choose a station that’s that far away, and then a voice announces that station when the time it up.”
“How about a heater under the seat? That toasty coziness on the train in winter is on a whole other level.”
“Forget the station, I want one of these in my apartment!”

Unfortunately, @buhibuhiuhohoho’s concept is, at the moment, only a concept. Speaking as someone who’s battled insomnia for most of his life but can somehow fall asleep with no problem on trains in Japan, I’m hoping some bright investor makes it a reality, and I’d bet a lot of other people feel the same way.

Source: Twitter/@buhibuhiuhohoho via IT Media
Images: Twitter/@buhibuhiuhohoho
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