Getting in Touch with my Inner Curmudgeon
I've had a few nice things to say about Tokyo in recent posts so least I lose touch with my curmudgeonly side let me point out a couple of things I think the Japanese need to rethink. One of those is the address system - which is not at all efficient. Rather than use street names and a sequential numbering system they use a - well, I'll let Wikipedia explain it here. It's about as easy to use as it is to explain. There are, every few years, foreigners found wandering the back streets of Japanese cities that aren't even aware that WWII is over.
It's not just foreigners that find this system difficult. There are district maps posted on neighborhood sidewalks that show people where shops and homes are located. Here's one from the Omote-sando area. Notice the little house where Steve Madden lives. You may have to click on the photo to be able to see it.
My own built-in GPS superpower is still challenged by this "system" and I'm averaging about 50% success rate on finding some of the small shops and eateries I've searched for. Unlike most world cities the tiny back streets in Tokyo are packed with retail shops. What would be a tiny back alley in New York is considered a street here. My mind keeps telling me these little passages are sidewalks so when taxis suddenly pass me with inches to spare I am always startled.
The other strange inefficiency I've noticed is the lack of a common understanding of which side of the sidewalk to walk on. Whereas in the States the norm is walking on the right side of the sidewalk - just like our traffic does - Japan is everything goes. If Peavine had sidewalks I'm sure we'd walk on the side God intended us to - the right.
But in Japan, despite their penchant for organization, there is no norm. People walk on either side or all sides. On crowded sidewalks this is completely inefficient. But one thing I will say, the Japanese don't bump into each other like people do in Korea and China. They must have built-in collision avoidance systems.
It's not just foreigners that find this system difficult. There are district maps posted on neighborhood sidewalks that show people where shops and homes are located. Here's one from the Omote-sando area. Notice the little house where Steve Madden lives. You may have to click on the photo to be able to see it.
My own built-in GPS superpower is still challenged by this "system" and I'm averaging about 50% success rate on finding some of the small shops and eateries I've searched for. Unlike most world cities the tiny back streets in Tokyo are packed with retail shops. What would be a tiny back alley in New York is considered a street here. My mind keeps telling me these little passages are sidewalks so when taxis suddenly pass me with inches to spare I am always startled.
The other strange inefficiency I've noticed is the lack of a common understanding of which side of the sidewalk to walk on. Whereas in the States the norm is walking on the right side of the sidewalk - just like our traffic does - Japan is everything goes. If Peavine had sidewalks I'm sure we'd walk on the side God intended us to - the right.
But in Japan, despite their penchant for organization, there is no norm. People walk on either side or all sides. On crowded sidewalks this is completely inefficient. But one thing I will say, the Japanese don't bump into each other like people do in Korea and China. They must have built-in collision avoidance systems.
posted by Kevcham at 4:11 AM
1 Comments:
What do you mean "if" we had sidewalks?
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