The Psychology of Japanese Train Stations
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The Psychology of Japanese Train Stations
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Re: The Psychology of Japanese Train Stations
#2>Rail stations, whether in Japan or elsewhere, are also great places to see “nudge theory” at work.
Gentle nudges, like ultrasonic deterrents to keep teenagers away with "a look of confusion or discomfort, and often a cry of urusai! (Loud!)"...?
Re: The Psychology of Japanese Train Stations
#3>Rail stations, whether in Japan or elsewhere, are also great places to see “nudge theory” at work. Gentle nudges, like ultrasonic deterrents to keep teenagers away with "a look of confusion or discomfort, and often a cry of urusai! (Loud!)"...?
That's in a separate section of the article. "Point and Call" isn't nudge theory either.
Re: The Psychology of Japanese Train Stations
#4Reminds me of how NYC subway trains now have arrows on the floor of the train cars directing people to step further in instead of just standing at the door and blocking everyone behind them (which seems to be an all too common behavior).
Re: The Psychology of Japanese Train Stations
#5Anecdote time... Tokyo train stations kinda suck.
Coming from a few weeks in Malaysia and Singapore, it was interesting to see just how little and how poorly translated English is there. (They speak Japanese and not English, but lets be honest about it being the lingua franca)
It was VERY DIFFICULT to figure out how their train colors worked, how Orange gets to Blue (it's a connect, but a couple blocks away). That Ginza station (iirc, might be wrong) has at least two names.
Also, that none of the machines take cards! We were 11 yen short - about $0.10 for a ticket to the airport, and while the very nice workers were happy to explain where a few blocks away the ATM was, it would have been great if someone just threw a coin at us to get us to go away, different culture, I suppose had I asked someone would have given it to us, but I feel like in the USA it would have just been offered.
Japan was a lot like NYC, the subway there is also more confusing than places like DC or Taipei.
Re: The Psychology of Japanese Train Stations
#6Anecdote time... Tokyo train stations kinda suck. Coming from a few weeks in Malaysia and Singapore, it was interesting to see just how little and how poorly translated English is there. (They speak Japanese and not English, but lets be honest about it being the lingua franca) It was VERY DIFFICULT to figure out how their train colors worked, how Orange gets to Blue (it's a connect, but a couple blocks away). That Gi…
I found it very easy and each time I’ve asked for assistance I’ve received it. The stations are always manned with several staff so help is always available.
On the Tokyo subway all trains and maps, signage and in cabin screens provide English labelling. What more do you need ?
Edit: I have to add, the fact the trains a almost perfectly ontime, with little wait between services, always designed to meet capacity, are In great condition and spotless, I really don’t see how it “sucks”. In fact what more do you want out of a Subway?
Re: The Psychology of Japanese Train Stations
#7Anecdote time... Tokyo train stations kinda suck. Coming from a few weeks in Malaysia and Singapore, it was interesting to see just how little and how poorly translated English is there. (They speak Japanese and not English, but lets be honest about it being the lingua franca) It was VERY DIFFICULT to figure out how their train colors worked, how Orange gets to Blue (it's a connect, but a couple blocks away). That Gi…
> They speak Japanese and not English, but lets be honest about it being the lingua franca
If you go to Seoul they don't even have Romanized names for the train stations. Everything's in Hangul. For a massive system built primarily for Japanese speakers it's really pretty accessible.
> Japan was a lot like NYC, the subway there is also more confusing than places like DC or Taipei.
I mean, DC and Taipei are much smaller systems than NYC and (especially) Tokyo. There's also geographical concerns -- Tokyo is just huge and NYC is very oddly shaped. DC, Taipei, Boston, Chicago, etc are very radial which makes them easy to figure out.
Re: The Psychology of Japanese Train Stations
#8Anecdote time... Tokyo train stations kinda suck. Coming from a few weeks in Malaysia and Singapore, it was interesting to see just how little and how poorly translated English is there. (They speak Japanese and not English, but lets be honest about it being the lingua franca) It was VERY DIFFICULT to figure out how their train colors worked, how Orange gets to Blue (it's a connect, but a couple blocks away). That Gi…
I'm visiting London right now, and compared to here, Tokyo train stations are amazing for signage. There are always super clear, easy to spot signage for where transfers & exits are, what exits they are and what landmarks they lead to, where elevators or escalators are, etc. Electric signs starting at the entrances (before the gates even) for what trains are arriving at what platforms and when.
In London navigational signs are either completely missing or white signs on white tile backdrops so they blend in and are hard to spot (aside from the generic "Way Out" exit signs that don't specify out to where, will I have an escalator/elevator, etc). Electric signs are sparse (maybe one after the gates and one or two only at the ends of the platform)
Tokyo is complicated by the fact that it's actually 10+ different systems run by different, mostly private, companies (JR trains like Yamanote, Tokyo Metro trains, keio, toei, keikyu, keisei, yurikamome, etc etc) so I'm always impressed by how integrated they manage to make it seem.
It sucks that Japan is mostly a cash society, but Apple Pay Suica on iPhone 8 and up helps a lot :)
Singapore does have an amazing subway though, completely world-class.
Re: The Psychology of Japanese Train Stations
#9Anecdote time... Tokyo train stations kinda suck. Coming from a few weeks in Malaysia and Singapore, it was interesting to see just how little and how poorly translated English is there. (They speak Japanese and not English, but lets be honest about it being the lingua franca) It was VERY DIFFICULT to figure out how their train colors worked, how Orange gets to Blue (it's a connect, but a couple blocks away). That Gi…
> They speak Japanese and not English, but lets be honest about it being the lingua franca If you go to Seoul they don't even have Romanized names for the train stations. Everything's in Hangul. For a massive system built primarily for Japanese speakers it's really pretty accessible. > Japan was a lot like NYC, the subway there is also more confusing than places like DC or Taipei. I mean, DC and Taipei are much small…
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Re: The Psychology of Japanese Train Stations
#10Reminds me of how NYC subway trains now have arrows on the floor of the train cars directing people to step further in instead of just standing at the door and blocking everyone behind them (which seems to be an all too common behavior).
I've not convinced at how effective that is.