The first time I came across a sign indicating that a shop was open until 25:00 or 25:30, I thought, “Wait, did Japan invent its own time system? Last I checked, an earthly day had only 24 hours. But they, maybe Japan is just that special!”
At first, the idea of an extra hour didn’t seem so bad. More time to hang out with friends or catch up on sleep, right? It’s like the day of turning back the clock one hour in Europe or America at the end of Daylight Savings - but 365 days a year!
But soon enough, I realised that while Japan is unique in many ways, the daily clock isn’t one of them.
Apparently, the practice of going beyond the 24-hour clock started with TV schedules. Back in the day, when channels would go into intermission at 4am, they considered the wee hours of the day as part of the previous day’s programming. To avoid confusing viewers about whether a show was on at 3am or 3pm, TV executives just extended the schedule to 28:00.
Perhaps not so relevant anymore in today’s time, where TV channels tend to run 24/7 and the younger generations don’t even watch TV.
But once a certain concept has taken root, it’s difficult to get rid of it again. Especially as shops adopted the practice as well, so now you see these bizarre hours outside supermarkets and eateries in many places. And they always make me chuckle.
Train timetables, on the other hand, are a different story. For some reason, while TV viewers and shop-goers seemingly can’t be trusted to know the difference between 3am and 3pm, train passengers are expected to understand that 00:30 means their train will depart just after midnight, not at lunchtime the next day.
Oddly enough, trains stop running much earlier than some eateries and supermarkets. If you need a train home after midnight, good luck! The last one probably left ages ago.
Unlike New York City, ubiquitously called “the city that never sleeps” with its 24/7 subway network, Tokyo apparently does sleep. At least the subway staff do (though thankfully not on the job!).
So, if you find yourself stranded after the last train (because Tokyo's nightlife just proves too irresistible), you have three choices: Hail a cab, squeeze into a capsule hotel and pretend you're an astronaut, or party the night away at a bar or nightclub until the first morning train rolls in.
Depending on how far from the centre you live, a cab could easily make your wallet cry out in agony, the capsule hotel is cheaper but not for the claustrophobic, and the last option might be the most fun, though probably also not cheap, depending on how much you drink throughout the night. Plus, it might come with a hammering headache as a souvenir...
Over the years, I have found myself in that very situation a number of times. And except for one occasion, I always opted for the taxi, possibly too intoxicated to realise how much it would set me back. On that one occasion, I was together with a workmate, and when the realisation hit us, we happened to stand in front of a Brazilian bar, whose business hours - ever so conveniently - indicated that it stayed open all night. So it seemed an attractive option that we wanted to take advantage of. And it certainly turned out to be a memorable night - one that a 24/7 subway system would have deprived us of…
Things always happen for a reason, as I tend to say!
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