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On the go(zay masta) in Japan again


Cool cat the Japanese are


Tokyo at dusk


 My second visit to this land of the rising sun after almost a decade. Back then clearly I was wet behind the ears product manager and likely didn’t pay attention to all (efficient) things Japanese.

But today I did and of course continue to be impressed. It is as much the obvious stuff like on time travel that is both clean and comfortable and all that which makes it possible. The impressive landmark and landscapes that these humans have put together despite their cramped (or because of it) surroundings and precarious geological conditions could amaze a novice architect among us.


But it’s also the little things that someone had to think about which have a phenomenal impact on day to day lives that make the Japanese stand apart. Below are few random examples-

1. Providing a very fine machined wooden toothpick in every packet of wooden chopsticks. The said chapsticks are simply set on the To Go counter of any food vendor/ convenience store where you might pick up your quick snack or dinner. Eat with their quintessential tool then in case you get a rather pesky sardine stuck in the cavity use our finely made and readily available pick. Cool or what? By the way the cellophane bag that contains said implements is also smartly designed to show where the notch to slice open it is. Good for us that yank on plastic pouches and get frustrated.

2. Bathrooms are often very cramped based on the fact that they get least amount of time spent in the day but need to be functional. My hotel room had an angled bathtub to save space. The bath mat required to be used outside shower therefore was precisely cut and sown to  match that angle in the tub wall. They could have purchased standard rectangular mats and let customers operate with a little fold over but no. It had to be precise and functional. Who sits and does this thinking?

3. Human recordings that incessantly play in a train or subway ride cautioning travelers/ customers to begin getting organized before a platform arrives. Music and voice recordings alert travelers about myriad different information that can be useful. One latest such PSA that again seems to take the common case (it is not till the Japanese show us how) and make sense of it was when the voice said before pulling into a station - “we are going to change tracks now so please grab a handrail “.

Train might slightly slow down and shake as it switches tracks but to candidly share this with the standing public (and many have to given how crowded things get) is useful. 

Here’s to more enlightenment wherever you can find it!


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