Japanese Alarm Clock Tailored To Commuters

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Yamanote Train Line Alarm Clock (Image courtesy Hobidas)By Andrew Liszewski

Even if you don’t live in Japan it’s no secret the country has a pretty impressive rail system, particularly in the more crowded city centers where it’s a necessity for moving people around. The Yamanote Line is one of Tokyo’s busiest commuter lines and if you’re a daily passenger you might be interested in this Yamanote Alarm Clock.

The face of the clock has labels that correspond to the various stations on the line’s circular route and the hands of the clock point to where a train is at any given time. To make sure it’s always accurate the clock also gets continual updates via a radio broadcast system. As a final touch the alarms on the clock are actually the departure sounds heard throughout the various stations along the route. The subway where I live actually has a very similar system but instead of selling alarm clocks to keep track of the trains you can just ask and be ignored by one of the transit workers. Oh and from what I can tell they’ve also done away with the whole idea of a schedule or arriving on time.

The Yamanote Alarm Clock is available from Hobidas for about $65.

[ Yamanote Train Line Alarm Clock ] VIA [ TechChee ]

2 COMMENTS

  1. Actually, the clock does not keep time with the trains. It just happens that the loop around the Yamanote line takes about an hour (but not exactly 60 minutes). The radio time control connects with a regular time service that has nothing to do with the JR system.

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