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Tech Upright ‘Nap Box’ for power naps at the office

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thomas

Unswerving cyclist
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Koyoju Plywood Corp. and Tokyo-based office furniture supplier Itoki Corp. developed a 'nap box' (仮眠ボックス kamin box) that allows stressed office workers to have their power nap upright at the office.

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Recent years have seen a rise in the belief that taking breaks and naps are an important factor for improving productivity in offices. "We want to make a product that meets the needs of our times," Koyoju Plywood President Hironari Yamaguchi told a news conference in Sapporo on July 14. The license agreement signed on the same day allows the plywood manufacturer based in Asahikawa, Hokkaido , to use Itoki's patent-pending technology. The city is a regional hub of furniture manufacturers in Hokkaido. According to Itoki's design, the nap box is equipped with ledges to support the head, hips and knees to prevent the user from falling over.



Pricing and availability haven't yet been decided. And why this contraption has to be upright isn't quite clear to me either.


A Solution to Japan's Overwork: Sleep in an Upright 'Nap Box'
 
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Push it over.

Seriously, what is this, a space-saving device? They want their workers to get a brief, unsatisfying nap as if they're trying to sleep standing up on a crowded train? This makes me irrationally angry on behalf of any office worker presented with this "perk."
 
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I have visions of it being used here in the US. Guys duct tape it shut and send it down the stairs on a bobsled run.
 
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Bus rides could be pretty interesting also. My girlfriend lived in a tiny village 3 hours south of Fukuoka and I sometimes ended up on the bus there. No AC and people with no perfume or deoderant along with pigs and chickens sometimes.

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I've only experienced a true 満員電車 (crowded train, beyond 100% capacity) a handful of times in a few different countries, and I don't understand how Japanese citizens stand for it... although I realize that on these trains, you pretty much have no choice.
 
I've only experienced a true 満員電車 (crowded train, beyond 100% capacity) a handful of times in a few different countries, and I don't understand how Japanese citizens stand for it... although I realize that on these trains, you pretty much have no choice.
That used to be my daily commute. But I eventually got a motorcycle license and switched to commuting that way.
 
That used to be my daily commute. But I eventually got a motorcycle license and switched to commuting that way.

Have you never considered commuting by bicycle? Healthier, cheaper, and more fun. :)

Actually, nicegaijin's picture shows a train on my local line. So glad that I no longer commute.

I can relate to the feeling. I haven't boarded a train since last spring.

However, how could you tell the photo shows your local line? The unique handrails?
 
I live close to the Seibu Ikebukuro line. The top train has a Seibu Lions logo on it and I recognise the train.

Forgive me. Selective view. I was focusing on the second picture. 😅
 
Have you never considered commuting by bicycle? Healthier, cheaper, and more fun.
That was years ago but no, never. Commuting to the train station by bicycle was enough. More than that I'd probably be quickly disheveled and sweaty.

Actually I first had a 50cc scooter but I felt it was dangerous not to be able to go at the speed of traffic. So I went to driving school and got the bike license.
Now I wish I had recorded my commute (perhaps by duct taping a camcorder to my shoulder). Driving through downtown Tokyo was like a video game.
 
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