πΎ How Cat Clock works
Cat Clock counts down to 6 PM, so you don't have to keep checking. A small office of cats lives
through the workday with you, dreading the morning, grumbling through the afternoon and cheering
as the end gets close.
β³ The countdown
The workday runs from 9 AM to 6 PM on your local clock, with lunch from 12 to 1.
The day moves through five moods, from Dreading It in the morning through
Grumpy, Hanging In There and Winding Down to
Almost Free. The page's colours change with each one. After 6, it counts down to
9 AM tomorrow. On Friday evening it says TGIF, with confetti.
A new quote to match the mood shows up every five minutes, with a little Japanese flavour.
π The loading bar
The whole day is one big loading bar. The fill creeps along with the percentage showing and a cat
riding on top. The caption keeps you company: Motivation loadingβ¦, then
Coffee loadingβ¦, then Freedom loadingβ¦. At 6 PM it hits 100% β
and the cat curls up for a nap.
π’ The office
The cats keep busy. They type at their desks, wander over to the coffee machine, and head through
the glass door into the meeting room, where now and then someone can't take it any more and wails.
Some come out of meetings a little dizzy. From 11:30 they start
getting hungry, and from 12 to 1 everyone eats from a steaming rice bowl.
Click or tap the floor to hire a cat. There's room for six. After that, the
oldest cat clocks out.
Click a cat to chat. Every cat has a name, its own coat color and a personality: Mochi the coffee
addict, Miso the professional grump, Tofu who is always napping, Kuro the mysterious intern, and
eight more. Each talks in its own voice, and now and then says something about how the workday is
going, whether it's at its desk, at the coffee machine, in a meeting, at lunch or heading home.
πΊ Cat moods
There are 20 hand-drawn expressions, and each cat picks its own mood when it sits down at a desk.
The time of day sets the mix, and each cat's personality tilts it: Miso is grumpy more often, Tofu
stays sleepy, Hana is cheerful, Kuro is deadpan, and night owl Ramen perks up in the evening:
- sleepy with a nose bubble, unimpressed and annoyed in the morning
- nervous sweat and a big phew in the afternoon
- happy, smug and starry-eyed as 6 PM gets close
There are three ways to cry: welling up, full-on wailing, and happy tears.
π The Tokyo skyline
The window looks out on Tokyo right now. Dawn, day, dusk and night follow Tokyo's
real sunrise and sunset, and the sun and moon cross the sky. The live weather updates every
15 minutes: clear skies, drifting clouds, fog, rain on the glass, snow, and thunderstorms with the
odd flash of lightning.
After dark, the city lights up. Office windows glow, Tokyo Tower is floodlit, red aircraft beacons
blink, and the Rainbow Bridge shimmers. On a clear night, watch for a shooting star. The time and
weather in Tokyo are shown under the countdown.
π Seasons
The office dresses up for the time of year. From September to November a garland
of maple leaves hangs over the window and autumn leaves drift past outside.
From September 25 to October 31 it turns spooky: a jack-o'-lantern by the plant, cobwebs in the
corners, bats fluttering across the skyline, and a witch hat on every cat, even Keibi-kun, who swaps its security cap for one. The meeting room gets
bunting with paper ghosts, a spider in its web, a bowl of candy and a pumpkin on the table.
π€ Meet Keibi-kun, the security guard
When the clock hits 6 PM on a weekday, the office gets a new visitor: Keibi-kun, a
security-guard robot in a peaked cap with a gold badge (keibi is Japanese for "security
guard"). It has one job: make sure nobody works late.
What it looks like. It rolls around on a white wheeled base. Its arms are held
forward, ready for business, and a camera mast rises behind its head. A dark visor shows two
glowing blue eyes, and they tell you its mood:
- π΅ Round, glowing eyes: on patrol, keeping watch.
- π Slanted, stern eyes: it has spotted someone who's still working.
- π Happy
^ ^ eyes: job done, everyone's gone home.
How it works.
- It rolls in from the side of the office just after 6. The cats don't leave on
their own at 6 any more; they keep working until Keibi-kun arrives.
- It finds each late worker in turn, starting with the nearest. That might be a
cat at a desk, one lingering at the coffee machine, or one stuck in a meeting, which it reaches
through the meeting-room door, just like the cats do.
- It stops beside them and says "Past 6 PM! Go home!".
The cat breaks into a nervous sweat and heads for the exit.
- It says goodbye once the office is empty, with a cheerful
"Otsukaresama!". That's Japanese for "thanks for your hard work".
- It patrols the empty office, now and then peeking into the meeting room. After
dark it carries a flashlight, sweeping a warm beam across the floor.
- It turns the lights off. Once Tokyo is dark and nobody's left, it says
"Lights out!". The office fades to darkness, and only the city glows
through the window.
Try it: hire a cat after 6 PM by clicking the office. The lights flick back on,
and Keibi-kun comes over to send your new hire home.
Its schedule.
- On duty: weekday evenings and early mornings, whenever the office is closed.
- Off duty: at 9 AM it rolls out as the first cat arrives.
- Weekends: it takes them off. Cats only drop by briefly for a look around.
β¨ Try it
Want to see Tokyo in other weather? These links preview the sky:
π Made by
Designed, sketched and built by Akanksha Vani, who also looks after the
site and its cats. Ideas or bug reports are welcome on LinkedIn.
π Small print
If your device is set to reduce motion, everything calms down to match. Weather data comes from
Open-Meteo.com. It was made with love, patience and chai.