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Sep 24 2014 18 Comments

Too drunk to even reach the toilet

So near and yet so desperately far.

drunk Japanese man man passed out in Tokyo

Categorized: Photography

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Martin says

    9/24/2014 at 10:59 am

    I think a major step for a man reaching adulthood is knowing how to stop before being in that condition.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      9/24/2014 at 4:57 pm

      In Japan that step has somehow been missed by a huge number of people. This fella seemed pretty young, so fair enough, but it’s not at all uncommon to see people much older in similarly sorry states…

      Reply
  2. F.Y. says

    9/24/2014 at 5:44 pm

    I choose to think he was poisoned, and now everyone’s just walking over a dead guy. Good job people walking over a dead guy!

    Reply
    • Lee says

      9/24/2014 at 7:31 pm

      I’m happy to say he wasn’t. Or at least not dead, as he did move — albeit slightly!

      But in many ways he could have been, as he got barely a look from most people.

      Reply
  3. Hans ter Horst says

    9/24/2014 at 7:10 pm

    LOL, and it is not even the Coming of Age Day day when everybody, bored after listening to an old fart drone on for hours, can get a drink legally for the first time 🙂
    I do like the fact that everybody seemingly is ignoring the elephant stretched out on the floor. The guy leaving the loo is clearly annoyed by your faux pas of actually noticing the drunk.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      9/24/2014 at 7:34 pm

      He’s perhaps been at it since Coming of Age Day!

      That’s what I liked moat about the photo. A man collapsed on the floor appearing to desperately reach out towards his goal, yet it’s the fella capturing the moment that gets all the attention…

      Reply
  4. Marcin says

    9/24/2014 at 9:05 pm

    So close… yet so far 😉 I like the way that he stretched his hand out in last effort to reach the bathroom only to finally give up. The other dudes are all: “passed out guy? where? i don’t see anybody”

    Reply
    • Lee says

      9/24/2014 at 10:20 pm

      That’s what struck me. Passed out drunks aren’t exactly uncommon, but that appearance of reaching out in a last, desperate effort, was definitely something different. But yeah, clearly not different enough for people to notice. Or at least pretend not to notice.

      Reply
    • Jeffrey says

      9/25/2014 at 3:05 am

      First thing I thought of too – “Just can’t quite . . . ”

      Then it made me think of this.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9U0tDU37q2M

      Reply
      • Lee says

        9/25/2014 at 12:56 pm

        Perfect!

        Cheers. Haven’t seen that for a long time.

        Reply
  5. Iwao Yamamoto says

    9/24/2014 at 10:53 pm

    I was surprised at the man looking directly for you but the next moment I recognized the young man lying at the gate of a rest room. I wondered whether the young man was trying to go to a toilet or not. It might be just the place in front of a toilet I though. I remember when my co-worker lied in the middle of a road when we drunk tougher at night. We were young but that man should have been more strong or have some judgement. Not only seen among Japanese I also think.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      9/25/2014 at 2:07 pm

      No, it’s definitely not just a Japanese thing, although the sheer number of people one sees passed out on the street quite possibly.

      On the plus side though there’s very little violence. Passing out is way better than starting a fight.

      Reply
  6. June says

    9/25/2014 at 7:24 pm

    I hope he didn’t really really need the washroom!!

    Reply
    • Lee says

      9/25/2014 at 9:40 pm

      Only he knows that, but I’m happy to say that when I took the photo, there were no signs that he did!

      Reply
  7. AF says

    10/1/2014 at 11:25 pm

    Oh man, sleeping before being able to go to the restroom is the sure key to have bad dreams or nightmares. It is like sleeping when we are hungry and then we dream about eating tasty food, or being thristy and dreaming with lots of water. If his bladder is full he could dream with a beautiful restroom and then comes the time when the guy could wakes up notice that he is wet, or even worse. o_O

    Reply
    • Lee says

      10/2/2014 at 10:53 am

      Yes, a situation fraught with danger. Fortunately for him, it was just before the station was closed for the night, so hopefully no accidents occurred before he was somehow moved on.

      Reply
  8. Zeno Vassiliades says

    12/12/2014 at 11:40 am

    Does Japan often have a drunkard problem? lol

    Reply
    • Lee says

      12/12/2014 at 2:38 pm

      I’m not sure if there’s a problem, but there’s certainly a relaxed attitude to public drunkenness. And drinking is a big part of the culture, both in regards work and recreation. There isn’t, however, the violence that one often sees in other countries. Certainly very different from my native Britain for example.

      Reply

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