CWWC: Signs in Japan

Published on by Yinglan

I don’t think I’ve ever had any difficulty following signs. I’ve always loved signs. They are the most tool to point me to where I need to go. During the first few days of my recent trip to Japan, I found the signs very confusing. It often either led me to a longer route or in circles.

I remember on the morning of day 2, what was supposed to be a 10-minute journey took us 45 minutes to find the darn subway station. My mom and her friend depend on me, which sucked. I followed the sign to the subway station to the T but all of a sudden, after an escalator ride, the signs disappeared. It took me 15 minutes of retracing my steps and re-doing my action that I managed to finally find the sign to the subway station.

I got better at following the signs as the trip went on though still managed to get lost when I tried to move too fast. Maybe my brain just doesn’t process information at the same rate as Japanese people.

Being on an island, space is valuable in Japan. The buildings I’ve seen are usually multiple stories with multiple businesses or shops. If you look closely, you will see which floors the shops/businesses are on.

I, unfortunately, did not take this picture for the sign. I took this picture because I liked the animation on the screen. Japanese people are somehow fascinated (maybe borderline obsessed) with cats and for some strange reason, I find animation cats cute.

This was the second day of the trip. Of the entire trip, this was the day I had the least recollection. All I remember was going round and round in the morning trying to find the darn subway station, we were trying to get to Ueno Park to see the Tokyo National Museum. I remembered little of what I saw in that museum. Next thing I knew, I was outside, wishing I had an umbrella in the midst of a sudden downpour.

I don’t remember taking a picture of these signs but apparently I did. These two streets are apparently are hot-spots for shopping?

What can I say about signs in Japan?

They are literally everywhere. You just need to know how to follow them.

Cee’s Which Way Challenge (CWWC)

9 thoughts on “CWWC: Signs in Japan”

  2. On the second day you were very jet lagged and sleep deprived. You crossed the dateline. You are upside down in time. Your brain couldn’t process very much. Guess what? You get lost a lot. It’s one of the reasons that if we are traveling across multiple time zones we try to arrive two days before we have to work. The first day is lost.

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    1. Then, you’re saying I should have some slack when I get lost and shouldn’t be lectured?
      I wish my mom was as understanding as you, if there wasn’t so many people around, she’d be screaming her head but instead, every time I got lost, she would lecture me in whispers and hisses. Super annoying.

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      1. You shouldn’t have done much of anything on your first day. We try to sleep until 5 or 6 after arriving at night. We have coffee, a short walk and breakfast. We may wander around near the hotel but we don’t do much. Your mom should stay in Utah and wander around there.

        Ray

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      2. We arrived at 4:30 AM that day and had to wait for mom’s friend to show up. We didn’t reach the hotel until near 10 AM. Thank goodness the room was ready. Then I showered while mom and her friend yammered on. There was no way I could get any sleep even with ear plugs.
        After doing a round of wandering, I got a few hours of sleep in before I was woken up.
        Going on any trip with mom is stressful like that because she wants to spend every moment to its fullest, otherwise it’d be a waste of money in her POV.
        My philosophy is to take it easy, enjoy the time and whatever I don’t see this time will be left for next time. I find I learn and see more this way.

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      3. I understand your mom’s point of view, but if you are so tired and jet lagged that you can’t enjoy what you are seeing, what’s the point? You are right about taking your time. Besides, you can’t see or understand even a small part of a country in a few weeks.

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