Is a 90-Minute Commute Too Long? 5ch: “Round-Trip, That’s 4 Hours Wasted”

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“Isn’t it crazy to spend more than an hour and a half commuting?” — that post kicked off a wide-ranging debate on 5ch about commute times. Users shared stories of commutes stretching from 20 minutes to 2 hours after company-mandated transfers, and confessions of losing 4 hours a day round-trip, before the discussion expanded into whether remote work is the answer and how it factors into buying versus renting a home.

1Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 10:15:27.19ID:ID:oDkbLr9t0
Yeah, myself included, I genuinely think that.
2Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 10:16:23.57ID:5nrheNPV0
The company just transfers you somewhere far away without even asking.
4Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 10:17:17.31ID:oDkbLr9t0
>>2
Exactly this.
My commute went from 20 minutes to 2 hours too.
25Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 10:31:09.56ID:vSrBKKCd0
>>2
Just move, then.
6Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 10:19:12.37ID:dFb+Nycf0
Even a 30-minute commute wastes an hour round-trip.
That's a precious hour out of 24 wasted every single day.
8Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 10:20:09.43ID:oDkbLr9t0
>>6
I'm wasting a full 4 hours a day on my commute.
It's brutal.
10Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 10:22:32.10ID:sHinbxu80
Isn't living too close bad too, though? Running into coworkers near your house would kill me 🥺
11Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 10:23:20.60ID:oDkbLr9t0
>>10
But being able to walk to work is amazing, isn't it?
Your mornings are way less rushed.
13Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 10:24:24.41ID:6TY/XoqJ0
A 90-minute one-way commute is rough for sure, but round-trip, well, that's just how it goes I guess.
16Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 10:25:37.34ID:oDkbLr9t0
>>13
Round-trip, that's totally fine then.
15Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 10:25:36.32ID:g2Fe68OC0
I've been working from home for 6 years now, and commuting really is just a waste of your life.
17Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 10:26:19.13ID:oDkbLr9t0
>>15
Winner in life.
With a job like that you can live anywhere.
Seriously jealous.
18Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 10:27:53.65ID:g2Fe68OC0
I once had a coworker who commuted from Yokohama to Abiko — thought that was insane.
21Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 10:29:47.89ID:oDkbLr9t0
>>18
About 90 minutes, huh.
That's pretty far.
Also, whether you can get a seat matters a lot on a long commute.
19Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 10:28:14.02ID:KICgEweS0
My office is a 3-minute walk from home and it's amazing.
I can even eat lunch at home.
During COVID I was the only one who had to come in to answer phones, and having the whole office to myself was actually a fun change of pace.
20Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 10:28:30.38ID:g2Fe68OC0
>>17
But your world really shrinks.
You stop leaving your own neighborhood.
24Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 10:31:07.61ID:oDkbLr9t0
>>20
I live in a town I actually like, so to me that only sounds like a plus…
26Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 10:31:42.89ID:g2Fe68OC0
>>21
Both Ueno and Abiko are terminal stations, so apparently he could always get a seat (the Joban Line only ran as far as Ueno back then).
Still, that must've been rough.
29Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 10:33:06.64ID:oDkbLr9t0
>>26
It's rough… At first you think you'll use the commute productively, like studying for certifications, but whether it's exhaustion or what, you just end up sleeping the whole way.
28Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 10:32:02.01ID:oDkbLr9t0
>>25
It's my own home, so it's not that simple to just…
31Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 10:34:02.01ID:vSrBKKCd0
>>28
They say commute time and odds of getting depressed rise together.
Not sure owning a home is worth that much, though.
32Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 10:34:55.20ID:KICgEweS0
>>28
My department head owns a house too, but on top of that he rents his own apartment — a 3-minute walk from the office, same as me.
30Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 10:33:48.21ID:SreMWNePd
Why are companies ditching remote work?
Are people just stupid?
33Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 10:36:15.21ID:oDkbLr9t0
>>30
Any job that can go remote should just go remote, full stop.
Trains would be less packed too.
34Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 10:37:09.13ID:gQugDA23r
I don't feel like I belong at home or at work, so the commute is the only time I get any peace.
37Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 10:37:52.36ID:oDkbLr9t0
>>34
That's kind of sad…
How long is your commute?
35Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 10:37:11.03ID:oDkbLr9t0
>>31
Still, there's something to be said for feeling settled and being able to lose yourself in a hobby, so I want to go home to my own house.
53Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 10:53:41.41ID:vSrBKKCd0
>>35
What kind of hobby can you only do if you own your home?
56Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 10:58:37.29ID:oDkbLr9t0
>>53
Model building and playing instruments…
61Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 11:00:27.15ID:8DahSvwl0
>>53
Instruments do seem pretty rough to keep up in a rental.
38Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 10:37:57.64ID:cGUzl6oN0
Even just a room to sleep in is fine — better to rent a place near work.
40Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 10:38:38.17ID:oDkbLr9t0
>>38
I get that, but
there are things you just can't do unless it's your own place…
39Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 10:38:32.92ID:QWeTNwuw0
The shorter your commute, the better, period — it's crazy that there's not a single upside to a long one.
43Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 10:39:16.13ID:oDkbLr9t0
>>39
At first you always think you'll put the time to good use somehow…
44Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 10:41:15.43ID:ix/016oG0
>>39
So true.
Even company-paid transit allowances get taxed, so the farther and pricier your commute, the more you lose out.
81Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 11:13:29.74ID:xx/4pKUf0
OP:

Waking up, breakfast, getting ready: 1 hour
Commute (round trip): 4 hours
Work hours: 8 hours
Lunch break: 1 hour
Prep before clocking in: 30 minutes

So that's about 14.5 hours a day spent on work-related stuff?
91Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 11:20:38.78ID:C7etTt7T0
>>81
And after you get home there's still prepping for tomorrow and answering emails.
100Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 11:32:35.98ID:1vR8I0KD0
The factory I work at is shutting down, so there's nothing I can do about it — is 90 minutes really that rough for you guys?
101Anonymous2026/08/21(金) 11:35:17.32ID:UxFCGULv0
>>100
That's 3 hours a day burned just commuting.
Can you handle that?

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “Anyone who spends more than 90 minutes commuting is an idiot.”

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