185. Why would you worry about addresses when you could just play with this fun telescoping, bendy straw!pic.twitter.com/UBjYl7jbE8
You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more
192. Japan seems to have a secondary official calendar where the years are counted in eras matching the reigning emperor. Here, 1964 was the 39th year of the Shōwa era, 1993 the 5th year of the (still current) Heisei era. More: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_era_name …pic.twitter.com/t5Ft6aQhG9
In one mall I actually stumbled onto a little mirror corner called “vanitory.” I laughed it off as an example of amazing flawed translation – but it turns out this is an actual English word. It’s funny that I didn’t expect that trip to teach me English, and yet it did.pic.twitter.com/L4JvgtWROI
And it definitely made me reflect on English the way seeing foreigners use a language tends to. Of course “height” is going to be misspelled since it’s so inconsistent with “width” and other words! Of course “here is not parking” seems like it’d make perfect sense!pic.twitter.com/psMZwtQtSu
194. Here are some of my favourite translation, and also that pictogram in the last photo is beyond priceless.pic.twitter.com/tXfrBb9Tmy
195. I gave Google Translate hard time before, and indeed, things can be rough. (Although I like the idea of a “very button”!)pic.twitter.com/IMdkleEXMT
Google Translate told me about “Moses following children” in a restaurant menu, “The Russians” on an air conditioning panel, and “the peregrine falcon per cent” in a post office.
Some appear and quickly disappear as I slightly shift my position, including this hilariously inappropriate translation of an ATM label.pic.twitter.com/Fd7v9TjVG5
But there are many genuinely amazing moments where I can at least get the *gist*. Walking through the otherwise completely incomprehensible bookstore with it was like having a lens with superpower, like glasses that made *information* naked. (If you know what I mean.)pic.twitter.com/Vb37vbPWeT
Today in a restaurant, the waitress tried to ask me something, and I had no idea. She tried so hard, brought a piece of paper with tons of Japanese, nothing. And then I had the idea to point Translate at it. Turns out and was asking me about my allergies.
A few times I showed others Google Translate they were really impressed; perhaps the only time *I* appeared cool and advanced during this trip. (Otherwise I mostly feel like the attached surreal vignette I witnessed today.)pic.twitter.com/4fdAc1BgUJ
196. Speaking of restaurants, I love little moist hand towels that are always there waiting for you – and also added to your bag whenever you buy food from grocery stores or bakeries. So refined!pic.twitter.com/pTVIpBGdcG
197. If the place is not using a ticketing system or you don’t order at the country, often they’d bring my bill to me immediately, and then I went to the register to pay on the way out.pic.twitter.com/ZGDuwkt9G9
198. In love with cute little shopping baskets to be filled with cute little things.pic.twitter.com/1LHTKtwhFq
199. It was interesting that when listing emergency numbers, marine accidents and incidents were as high priority as ambulance, fire, and police. (From a phone booth. There are phone booths!)pic.twitter.com/iL9l9QANrm
200. There are tons of little delightful melodies. I made a compilation video of a few on the subway and other trains – particularly there, a particular melody can identify a train or a station as you’re traveling. (More info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Train_melody …)pic.twitter.com/0mQ0bgfW6s
(Even the washer/dryer in my hotel played a little melody when it started and when it ended its job. It was such a surprise I wasn’t prepared to record it.)
201. I liked how the owners of the said washer/dryer taped over irrelevant pieces of UI (buttons, drawers), and labeled the remaining buttons A, B, and C just to help me out.pic.twitter.com/0OiaIs3GqG
202. I saw more things like this. Here, the railway clock explains how to embrace the 24-hour time (and NEVER LOOK BACK).pic.twitter.com/PNENEUQmxo
Various establishments announced their support for English.pic.twitter.com/qVpcoFAWyY
This one made me laugh. I almost imagined the exasperation of the people putting it together, trying all sorts of approaches, only eventually to arrive at “very slippery.”pic.twitter.com/LkYQmBLmN5
203. Because otherwise everything’s so gentle and respectful! Instead of “No tampering,” it’s “Is you open this cover, you will be inquired by crew,” for example.pic.twitter.com/Uv8rvmwxpz
It’s actually kind of amazing how many things become humanized here. From cigarettes and lightbulbs…pic.twitter.com/I0NCux9rw3
…through houses and cars on top of BRIDGES. (I wonder what HR has to say about *that* relationship.)pic.twitter.com/cKwvhyCC5W
205. What surprised me quite a bit is that I haven’t noticed any emoji. I sort of have this impression that emoji exist in print and ads in America. Maybe I’m mis-remembering? Because I don’t think I saw any used in that context here in Japan.
206. I have seen this, a lot –
– a symbol for hot springs.
(By the way! I have done many since my first day: open air hot bath under the winter’s sky, and public town hot bath, and I’m now so good at it that I notice other foreigners’ etiquette mistakes. :·) )pic.twitter.com/9ySn0Sq7wr
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.