A Parking Lot Pay Machine in Japan Got One Tiny Umbrella Hook, and People Want to Give It Every Award

What's going on

Japanese cities are dotted with "coin parking" lots: small, unattended pay-by-the-hour lots, sometimes just a handful of spaces squeezed between buildings. There's no attendant. When you leave, you walk up to a pay machine, punch in your space number, and pay. The machine usually has a small canopy over it, just big enough to keep the machine itself dry.

On a day of heavy rain, one person noticed that the canopy at their lot had something extra: a bracket on its front edge, labeled 傘かけ ("umbrella hook"). You slot your open umbrella into it, handle down, and let go. The umbrella stays up over your head like an extension of the roof, and both your hands are free for your wallet, your cash, and the touchscreen.

The photo got passed around with a simple verdict: whoever designed this deserves an award. The replies agreed, handed out a few more awards, and then got into the finer points of wind, height, and who parking lot roofs are really built for.