Yellow brick road
Today was a very slow errand day, so instead of posting dry content about my boring day (well, it was actually super rainy today*), I’ll occasionally write about things that I’ve found interesting about Tokyo/Japan that is different than the US. If you’ve visited Tokyo before, you’ve very likely seen these yellow blocks on the sidewalk:
These are markers for the visually impaired, known as Tenji blocks. There are a lot of great resources on the internet talking about the history, but the shortlist of interesting fun facts are:
- 1. There are only two types of blocks: parallel lines (directional - follow this path), and raised bumps (caution - could refer to a hazard or change in terrain)
- 2. Japan established support for the visually impaired over 40 years after the US did, but Tenji blocks (which are used in over 20 countries today, including the UK and US) were invented by a Japanese man, Seiichi Miyake
- 3. The design was inspired by braille and has gone through multiple iterations, but the national (and eventually global) standard has settled on a 5x5 blister design for caution/hazard and 4 long bars for directional tiles.
Additional reading
History: https://www.samuraitours.com/japans-tactile-paving-blocks/, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/08/22/national/social-issues/tactile-paving-visually-impaired/ Block patterns and contexts: https://dcp.ucla.edu/tenji-blocks Review from a visually-impaired tourist: https://www.accessible-japan.com/traveling-japan-visual-impairment/
*As a person who is very bad at planning and doesn’t have a habit of looking at forecasts before leaving home (and hates walking in the rain), I always carry a small umbrella with me while walking outside in my purse/bag, no matter how sunny it looks outside when I leave. It was a total lifesaver today. While we’re on this topic, because there are no garbage cans on the streets of Tokyo, I also carry a garbage bag with me - just save a plastic bag from your first konbini (convenience store) visit and use it to stash the future trash you will inevitably accumulate throughout the day.