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The story
On the August 28 broadcast of the radio show ‘Weekly! Shabe-Laser’ (SBS Radio), Kazlaser complained that the curtains on Shinkansen windows are “too thin.” Even when pulled down, he said, about 80% of the sunlight still gets through, leaving him unable to sleep because of the glare — a comment that sirabee.com turned into an article, which then went viral. On 5ch, the reaction was split: practical suggestions like “just carry an eye mask” made up the majority, but there were also plenty of replies speculating that the curtains “might be deliberately thin to stop people from sleeping through their stop,” as well as comments that went further and judged Kazlaser himself, saying his “whole act has become nothing but complaining.” The thread ended up split between practical advice and commentary on the man himself.
Kazlaser, of the comedy duo Maple Chogokin, appeared on the radio show ‘Weekly! Shabe-Laser’ (SBS Radio) on the 28th. He brought up the in-car environment of the Shinkansen and voiced his displeasure, saying, “The window curtains are way too thin.”
“When you ride the Shinkansen, there’s a curtain on the window, right? I always think that thing is way too thin,” Kazlaser began, pointing out that even when you pull the curtain down to block the sunlight, “about 80% of the light still comes through” — criticizing how poor it is at actually blocking light.
“You pull it down because you don’t want the sunlight, right? But it still flickers through completely…” he said, revealing his discomfort while riding.
Source: sirabee.com / Original article here
What people said
An eye mask
That pretty much settles it, doesn't it.
Also, if they made every curtain thick, everyone would close them in summer, but if it gets that dark, it'll mess with the body clocks of people riding for hours.
Being bright during the day is healthier.
Changing as little as possible from the status quo is basically their creed.
JR Central is just that kind of company.
or just wear an eye mask.
Watching soccer ⚽ is just painful, like some kind of punishment game.
I used to think he was a rare kind of comedian with a unique sensibility, different from ordinary people, but now he's just turned into a weirdly high-and-mighty complainer, lol.
It's public transport, so it can't be helped.
Good thing private compartments are coming soon —
you can make it as dark as you like in there.
That's way too niche a demand.
They're small enough to fit in a pocket with room to spare.
That's the railway company's [kindness] right there. Unlike local lines, if you doze off on the Shinkansen and miss your stop, you'll end up way, way further down the line, haha.
They make the curtains [deliberately] thin so it doesn't get dark, precisely so passengers don't fall asleep, lol.
lol lol lol lol lol ꉂꉂ(ᵔᗜᵔ*)
Has he fallen so far he needs to invent self-serving complaints just to generate buzz?
I mean, was he ever really a comedian to begin with? With quiz shows drying up, all he's got left is nitpicking as his act…
Go make yourself a pitch-black helmet and use that instead.
The point is to block direct sunlight. Beyond that, adjust with your own eyelids.
Somebody stop letting comedians weigh in on everything already.
If it became a genuinely comfortable place to sleep, more people would miss their stop, and that's just more work for the conductor.
Do celebrities seriously only ever have material about Shinkansen, planes, and taxis?
The Hyuma Hoshi one is recommended (a novelty eye mask themed after the intense-eyed protagonist of the classic anime Star of the Giants).
Background and Key Points of This Topic
Among the replies, some speculated that the reason Shinkansen window curtains feel thin might be the fire-resistance standards imposed on interior materials, or a deliberate effort to stop passengers from dozing off and missing their stop. However, neither of these is an official explanation from JR — they remain purely user speculation. In fact, unlike local trains, the Shinkansen has fewer stops and shorter stopping times, so if you fall into a deep sleep, the risk of being carried a long way past your intended stop before the next one is significant. While practical opinions along the lines of “this is solved just by using an eye mask” made up the majority of the thread, a fair number of responses also framed Kazlaser’s comment itself as “complainer-like” or “attention-seeking,” with the conversation notably drifting more toward judging the man’s reputation than debating the actual content. Some replies also mentioned Shinkansen cars with private compartments, referencing a service that JR companies have been rolling out in recent years — though the thread being covered here isn’t actually debating the merits of that service itself.
*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Geisports Sokuho+) thread ‘Kazlaser’s ‘Complaint’ About the Shinkansen: “The window curtains are super thin. Isn’t it too bright when you want to sleep? Why does the Shinkansen never change?”‘
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