209. There’s a lot more smoking here. Smoking alcoves, smoking sections at the restaurants and on trains. (I once tried to sit in one as an experiment… I lasted a whole 3 minutes.)pic.twitter.com/Q7FiZtFdAF
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(This style was creatively reused by other things, chiefly bus stops.)pic.twitter.com/sZ4rCPBM6q
216. On the bus (where you board in the back, and leave in the front and pay your fare then), stop buttons were positioned at different heights to accommodate more people.pic.twitter.com/1Rsd0cdoJM
217. In many places I noticed this – a barrier separating people from cars, rather than a raised sidewalk.pic.twitter.com/Zu6XrgdRtY
218. Some street crossings offer to talk to you in many different languages.pic.twitter.com/8NXeI7vofu
219. I saw a bunch of interesting bike parking with similar UI and operations as those automated lockers. (And also, some lovely translation.)pic.twitter.com/Z1foXSfg5L
221. I also rented a bike. It was my first time biking on the left; taking right turns through intersections was even more frightening than biking on huge, scary bridges. (Bonus points if you notice a fun typographical detail in that last photo.)pic.twitter.com/gUXtNbDDM4
222. My bike lock had a thoughtful detail: it came with a little token with the lock combination so I didn’t have to memorize it or write it down.pic.twitter.com/5CzZWYOtJv
(But, my confidence took a big boost – and I was reminded of all the jokes made of me in primary school – when even the biggest helmet was too small for my enormous head. Also, a random thing I learned: Fixies without brakes are illegal in Japan.)
223. I supported this towel warmer after half an hour of walking in below-freezing temperatures… despite its dubious typographical allegiances.pic.twitter.com/Jr5hIRXLxZ
224. Although, to be fair, I also encountered some breathtakingly beautiful typography.pic.twitter.com/zK6NKTnvnK
225. Also, this split-flap parking display foreshadowing something amazing to happen in a few days hence! (Although, I feel bad for split-flap displays that don’t change often.)pic.twitter.com/uREMukAkng
*Vin Diesel voice* The thing about media fights… paper always wins.pic.twitter.com/4OV82WHcQ6
226. There are a lot of stamps here. Which is amazing. Some, as far as I understand, perform a function similar to signatures – you carry with you your own small seal stamp?pic.twitter.com/PxLVlR9duq
Where other places would use holes or notches to cancel or validate things… in Japan, you also encounter stamps.pic.twitter.com/mZKDoeOvNQ
(This is a cool read elaborating more on stamps and seals: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seal_(East_Asia)#Japanese_usage …)
227. In all these electronic stores, you can still find tons of paper catalogs, which is basically the best. #UninventInternetpic.twitter.com/6nEipV2xIH
228. I saw a lot of tape and label makers. From old-school…pic.twitter.com/Pctz9Muyay
All of them with millions font/colour/tape finish options.pic.twitter.com/PlzrUTb6T8
229. I wish I could have stayed longer so I could understand how “cute” works here – I don’t want to assume this is meant to be perceived the way I perceive it.pic.twitter.com/y7q88wbARd
Some of the “cute” seems confusing, to me almost undermining the main message? But I assume this is just me not being calibrated.pic.twitter.com/3XPZBqJ8u9
230. Under my feet, I encountered a lot of signs like these – but never figured out what they were for…pic.twitter.com/PfkZ8wMGpw
231. I liked these warning signs for cars shaped like flowers, though.pic.twitter.com/H66lUcUNC4
232. Someone told me “Have you tried the genius that is onigiri packaging? The nori seaweed isn’t touching the rice, but 1-2-3 you pull away the wrapper and then it is! Fascinating.” I tested it out and indeed! Alchemy.pic.twitter.com/PP9Ihs1GvF
233. In shoes-off places, someone would always rotate shoes so that they’d face the outside. (In one traditional hotel, the shoes even came with labels for room names.)pic.twitter.com/uBHIagGC4e
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