You’ve probably walked past those little glass-walled work pods inside big Tokyo stations. The ones that look like a cross between a phone booth and a tiny office. Wi-Fi, power outlets, a monitor, 15-minute slots starting at 330 yen. Perfect for answering a few emails between trains or hopping on a last-minute video call.
Turns out at least one person had a very different use in mind.
A young woman in a face mask walked into one of the single-person Station Booth units at a JR East station, closed the door, and started taking her clothes off. She filmed herself touching her own body while people walked by outside. The frosted glass didn’t hide as much as you’d hope. You could still tell what was happening.
The video later showed up on a major amateur adult site, sold for around 800 yen. The poster described herself as a college student who makes exhibitionist content. She claims she likes the real feeling of shame that comes with doing it in public-ish places. This particular clip even mentions a short girl who walked past and stared.
She’s posted hundreds of similar videos shot on trains, in stations, and other semi-public spots. The work booth just happened to be the latest convenient, cheap, and slightly enclosed location.
These booths are marketed as “offices on the go” for business people. The terms of use ban anything illegal or that goes against public morals. An Osaka lawyer told Japanese media there’s a decent chance this qualifies as public indecency. JR East’s facilities company said they only found out after being asked about it and are now looking into taking action.
Japan has a long-running market for this exact kind of “I’m doing this where people might see me” amateur content. It’s cheap to make, easy to keyword, and hits a very specific fetish. A 330-yen private booth with a door that doesn’t fully hide you is basically purpose-built for it, even if that was never the intention.
Whether the company actually starts checking these booths more carefully or just slaps a stronger warning on the door remains to be seen. In the meantime, the next time you’re rushing through Tokyo Station and spot one of those glowing little work cubes, you might look at it a little differently.
Just maybe don’t book one if you actually need to finish a spreadsheet.