(BTW, @RicketyRoads asked me what I see when I use Google Translate live video feature. Here’s an example.
There’s a kernel of truth here, but it’s all very fickle.)pic.twitter.com/7XneaFR8SI
-
-
113. I’m not really here, but I was just on an elevator ride so scenic I just couldn’t not share it with you. (Still in Tokyo.)pic.twitter.com/aRje044g6Z
Show this thread -
(((I won’t write much about Hiroshima since it was really tough, but three moments: I. It was snowing as I approached the half-destroyed Industrial Promotion Hall dome early in the morning. It seemed like the most peaceful place on earth, and it broke my heart.
Show this thread -
II. Inside the museum, I spent an hour looking at old photos of Hiroshima. I tried to decipher signs on shops and just understand better life before the bombing.
Show this thread -
At some point, an older woman volunteer came up to me and just started talking, in English, about the history of Hiroshima. Eventually, I asked her about the signs, and found out I was making one cardinal mistake: I was reading them left to right… instead of right to left.
Show this thread -
III. Some time before I cried for the second and third time that day, I stumbled upon two boys on a school trip just having fun scrubbing a random video in the exhibit. They were laughing quietly in that we’re-getting-away-with-something way.
Show this thread -
At some point they noticed me noticing them, and paused. And at this point, completely unexpectedly, I quietly burst out laughing, too – it turns out I needed that kind of release without knowing it. Fortunately, we didn’t get in trouble.)))
Show this thread -
114. My first Shinkansen ride was so beautiful I made a little video out of it that very evening:https://vimeo.com/255206737
Show this thread -
115. Also, what made the video even possible to some extent was that all the train rides I’ve had were so quiet! No talking on the phone, no loud shouting or conversations. There are no “quiet cars,” because all the cars are supposed to be quiet.
Show this thread -
116. Why are some of these subway train entry gates asymmetric? At first I dismissed it as an accident, but OF COURSE it is not. I figured it out on my own and so can you! Answer soon.pic.twitter.com/pPubUnfEcy
Show this thread -
117. …but not before we take a look at the best logo ever made, for a delivery company called Yamato Transport.pic.twitter.com/fX9qpF80Bt
Show this thread -
118. …and this cute weather indicator in a little town. (Google Translate tells me the last option says, and I quote, “it will be bad.”)pic.twitter.com/bRRJNwz3hr
Show this thread -
119. Not unique to Japan, but uniquely consistent: this arrow means “this thing is behind you.” By definition, it can only be shown facing you; particularly inspired is the last use, before you climb the wrong set of stairs.pic.twitter.com/tVuxER2EYL
Show this thread -
120. Likewise, since you’re looking down before entering an escalator, we can give you a little bit of a useful info then.pic.twitter.com/A3WXys1vLi
Show this thread -
…and that brings us back to 116. Asymmetric gates tell you this is where the arriving car begins or ends, I assume so that you can make better boarding decisions? This sort of blew my mind.pic.twitter.com/xfcoIpjXPm
Show this thread -
121. Handles on the subway and buses are abundant, and they even include transverse handles, which I am not sure I have seen before.pic.twitter.com/t683jRwde8
Show this thread -
(At the railway museum in Kyoto, they were so proud of those they showed not just their evolution, but even prototypes!)pic.twitter.com/CK1p07XQuK
Show this thread -
122. This train crossing doesn’t just have a nice-sounding signal, but it also shows you which way the train is coming from!pic.twitter.com/IZEOrCVyG8
Show this thread -
123. Cute animals – giraffes, monkeys, frogs – as construction barriers. (I listed them all for future search purposes, not because I don’t trust you to name them!)pic.twitter.com/BDQcfKUCWe
Show this thread -
124. Another fascinating hybrid purchasing method, in a convenience store. You grab things, and walk up to the cashier as expected – but all the money-related bits you do with the cash register that has more UI for you than it does for the cashier.pic.twitter.com/loZzyZpcMt
Show this thread -
125. One thing you learn the hard way as a designer: it’s easier to add than it is to remove. ^_^pic.twitter.com/uoKzYYFjGo
Show this thread -
126. I liked that on the train I took, the signs above the doors reflected the direction of travel. (They also alternated between languages, in case you were wondering.)pic.twitter.com/PDqlRxZqop
Show this thread -
127. In order to get the degree sign, the designer of this took a regular 7-segment display and… put it in upside down. I loved this. Whoever made it and the Medium underline guy should hang out! They live in the same kind of universe. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven-segment_display …pic.twitter.com/s0BOrAIHeD
Show this thread -
128. Speaking of upside down, a cool train schedule book rotating gizmo at the station.pic.twitter.com/3wyZ8bdSHL
Show this thread -
129. Not only is the drink label perforated so it’s easier to remove and recycle, but the perforation is stronger at the ends to help you out!pic.twitter.com/t06mFbkXz1
Show this thread -
130. This is also a fascinating hybrid opening cap. (And foot road signage photobombing it.)pic.twitter.com/8e3mAJvp0g
Show this thread -
-
132. Can/bottle recycling trash cans that kind of look like cute robots, but they’re scheming against you for sure.pic.twitter.com/7omAHEEu2Z
Show this thread -
133. (Quite possibly with the parking indicators, at least those that chose to be evil instead of good.)pic.twitter.com/IFueqIOVwa
Show this thread -
134. One of my hotels (but only one) offered me a Smoke Guard and that made me worried more than anything else.pic.twitter.com/ofWym4wJx3
Show this thread -
135. It wasn’t long after I got enough courage to try Oscillate when another restroom moved me up to face the next level’s final boss: Pulsate.pic.twitter.com/pYSrnuVIk8
Show this thread - Show replies
New conversation -
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.
)