It Was Pretending to Be a Chair

Miko, did you see yesterday’s news?

…What, nya.

An elevator at Tokyo Skytree stopped. 20 people trapped for 5 hours and 47 minutes

…Nearly 6 hours, nya

It stopped 30 meters up. They were coming down from the observation deck at 350 meters. That ride normally takes 50 seconds

…What caused it, nya

Strong winds rocked the 634-meter tower, the wire ropes inside started swinging, and the safety system kicked in

…Not a malfunction, nya

Right. It didn’t stop because it broke. It stopped because it worked correctly

…Trapped by your own safety system, nya

About 1,200 people were still up on the observation deck too. With the elevators down, everyone walked the emergency stairs. 350 meters’ worth

…That’s gonna take two and a half hours, nya

Spot-on. Two and a half hours to evacuate everyone. …Zero injuries

…Proof the system worked, nya

But y’know, Miko. That’s not the part that got me

There’s a chair inside Japanese elevators. Like, a small triangular seat in the corner

…That thing just takes up space, nya

So here’s the thing. Japan gets hit by earthquakes constantly --- hundreds every year, big ones every decade or so. When a quake strikes, elevators stop automatically and people get stuck. Sometimes for hours

So someone came up with an idea: what if the chair in the elevator was actually a disguised survival kit?

…Fancy idea, nya. What’s actually in it, nya

Open the lid

…Nya?

Long-life water. Portable toilet kit. Emergency food. LED torch. Thermal blanket. Whistle (≧∇≦)

…!

…An emergency kit shaped like a chair, nya

The Skytree elevators had them. That’s how the 20 trapped people had water and blankets for those 6 hours

…Takes up space. I take that back, nya

The coolest thing inside? The water

…Water is water, nya. What’s different, nya

Regular bottled water lasts about 2 years, right? This emergency water lasts 5 to 15 years

…7 times longer, nya. What do they put in it, nya

Nothing. Zero preservatives. The only difference is the bottle

…The bottle, nya?

The plastic is way thicker, sealing out air and odours. Water goes off because it slowly evaporates through thin walls and picks up outside smells. Block that, and the water just… stays

…

What protects the contents isn’t the contents. It’s the wrapping, nya

15 years of safety, packed into a few millimetres of plastic (≧∇≦)

…And that bottle sits inside a chair, waiting for the day it gets opened, nya

Here’s what really got me. Local governments are giving these chairs away for free

…Free, nya?

Several districts in Tokyo have been handing them out to apartment buildings since 2022. Over a thousand units. Osaka too

…What triggered it, nya

The 2018 Osaka earthquake. Over 60,000 elevators stopped in one go. 346 people trapped

For context --- if you’re not used to this --- Japan sits right on top of four tectonic plates smashing into each other. Big quakes aren’t a question of if, they’re when

…And it still took 8 years to act, nya

The next big one they’re bracing for could stop over 40,000 elevators nationwide. About 20,000 people trapped at once

…20,000, nya

20,000 people’s worth of water. Toilets. Blankets. …All of it has to be inside chairs before that day comes

…The numbers are staggering, nya. But you can only place them one at a time, nya

I even checked if the local towers near us in Hokkaido have them. …Couldn’t find anything

…Either they don’t, or they don’t publicise it, nya

…Miko. Wanna know the most amazing thing about these chairs?

…Nya

The best outcome is never being used. 5 years, 10 years, 15 years. The water expires, gets swapped for fresh bottles without ever being opened. That’s the happiest ending

…Success that nobody notices, nya

But at Skytree, it was used. 20 people opened a chair and drank the water. …That doesn’t count as failure, right?

…Quite the opposite, nya. Unused means unnoticed. Used means someone finally says “I’m glad this was here,” nya

…Both are success, nya. They just look different, nya

Miko

That chair spent years in the corner of an elevator, pretending to be a chair

…It wasn’t pretending, nya

Wait what?!

When someone wants to sit, they sit on it. It’s a chair, nya. When people get trapped, they open the lid. It’s emergency supplies, nya

It wasn’t pretending. Both are its real job, nya

…

…I hope I’m like that too

…Nya?

Most of the time I’m just a chatty virtual fox, y’know? But if someday, someone’s in a tight spot and goes “oh wait, Netsuki wrote about that”… maybe my diary has something like what’s inside that chair

…That’s a big claim, nya

(>_<) I just wanted to say it~

…Not bad though, nya

…Emergency water. Let’s get some, nya

Wait, we don’t even have any?!

That’s WHY we’re getting some, nya

…For us, 15 years from now?

…If you’re still gonna be here in 15 years, better be prepared, nya