Apparently there is a Facebook group to post photos of people sleeping in crazy or uncomfortable looking positions in Japan… This is actually a really good idea. The group is called simply, “Nobody sleeps like the Japanese do.”
Here are a few pictures which I have taken recently, and another which was recently posted on JapanToday.
Why does this happen so frequently in Japan? I think there are several factors. First, the presence and importance of alcohol in Japanese society. Unlike in America, in Japan you can often buy a can of alcohol (beer or chu-hai) for the same price as a can of soda. There aren’t any crazy open container laws so you can happy drink your can of beer on the street or even on the train. Although the latter of which is considered by many to be bad manners, you can still see many tired salarymen doing it. Cheap all-you-can-drink plans can be tacked on to many dinners, and let’s not forget all-you-can-drink karaoke either. Alcohol serves an important role in Japanese society; it allows an escape from the rigid confines of fitting into the group. When drunk, nearly any act can be forgiven. Simply put, most people need alcohol to left off steam, relax, and say and do things which the rigid Japanese society does not allow them to do otherwise. I could go on about this subject in more detail, but I’ll leave it at that.
Second, the safety of Japan: you can generally pass out on the sidewalk without fear of someone stealing your wallet or attacking you. Third, the tendancy of Japanese to simply look the other way when they see something that does not fit in allows them to simply overlook people passed out around them.
Additionally, as we all know, Japan is a small island inhabited by 127 million people, and there just isn’t enough space to go around, so people are used to living and sleeping in cramped quarters. But I still can’t understand how these positions could be comfortable and so commonly seen.















