This is a clock at a foot doctor's office. Photo was taken on Jan 8, 2020. Right at 9 a.m. the middle section opens up (as shown), plays a song and then closes. Then a nurse comes out from the door (bottom left of the photo) and announces names of persons who can come in to see the doctor(s). The office does not take appointments over the phone nor internet. Appointments are taken by physically writing name on a signup sheet at the office. The building is locked until about 6:30 a.m. (varies depending on when the cleaning lady brings garbage down). This particular doctor's office is usually very busy so it is not unusual to find people waiting for the building to open. We've had a young missionary who needed his ingrown toenails attended to, so for most appointments a sister from the Kagoshima branch who lives near the office was kind enough to get up early in the morning to get him signed up. The last few times, since they were so close together (Jan 7, 8, & 14), we didn't want to burden her too much so Sister Lee and I went to sign up for the 8th & 14th. That's how we experienced first hand the sign up process.
Now back to the clock. Japanese people likes punctuality. Shinkansen is definitively the best example of punctuality. This is another example. After the clock plays the song, the announcing nurse comes out to call patients in right at 9:02 or 9:03 on the clock. I thought the office was late because it was supposed to start at 9 a.m., but then I looked at my watch (digital) and it was right on at 9:00. The clock was purposely set couple three minutes early so it would have time to play the song and alert patients to get ready.
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