Twitter user in Japan posts pictures of his predicament before setting off store alarm, alerting police

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

A man who fell asleep in a massage chair at an electronics appliance store had to tweet for help after being locked in, Japanese media has reported.



The man, identified only by his Twitter handle @_Asphodelus, apparently awoke to find the store closed and the shutters lowered, and tweeted, “Oh man, I’m locked in!”, reported RocketNews24.

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He included photos, dated 15 August, of the locked doors, which appear to show that he was stuck inside an appliance store known as Ks, operated by Ks Holdings Corporation.

Tweets from the groggy sleeper said he was freed to go home only after an alarm alerted the police, who called the store manager to let him out. The store manager apologised for not realising the man was still in the massage chair at closing time.

The man was allowed to leave only after being checked for possible stolen goods, by more than 10 police officers, his tweet said.

“Seems the store workers [w]ere sleeping on the job,” a commenter with the handle-name Mocheake posted on JapanToday, an English language digest of Japan-related news.

Another user, Peter Qinghai, said: “Staff must’ve thought he was a test dummy, HA HA!”

Japanese appliance stores in areas such as Akihabara in Tokyo, otherwise known as Electric Town, take a liberal stance to customers testing the equipment on display, and many clearly take advantage with no intention to buy.

Visiting tourists sometimes find they can send e-mails from connected computers on display.

Ks Holding said it was unable to confirm the incident had taken place, and a spokeswomen said the precise outlet could not be identified from the photos alone.