Post #968758

I've been on holiday in Japan for a bit over a week with my family. I really like it here. Some noteworthy things: 1. Everyone talks about this, but the variety and quality of food available in convenience stores - 7 11, etc. - is truly astounding. I wondered if perhaps it was highly processed, low quality, etc., but it really isn't. I hate cooking enough that if I lived here, I reckon I'd never cook again. 😂 2. Overall, people are much quieter and more considerate here. Even in relatively crowded spaces where I'm used to it being super loud - public transport, train stations, shopping centres, crowded streets, etc. - it's just so much quieter. 3. The bathrooms are so clean! Men's bathrooms in a lot of countries, including Australia, are often pretty smelly and awful. I've not experienced that once here. It just goes to show that it *is* possible for people to not behave like animals in public bathrooms if they want to. This seems to be an extension of people being generally more considerate overall. 4. My (albeit limited) experience is that there are far more physical buttons, far less ridiculous and unnecessary touch interfaces and much more use of braille and tactile markings on buttons. Unfortunately, I can't read Japanese braille, so this hasn't been as helpful as it could have been, but that's my fault. :) 5. Mobility accesssibility for blind people is probably better overall, but with some notable absences. Train announcements are consistent and super helpful, plus there are audible indications like music, bird sounds, etc. to aid with navigation and location, assuming you know what they mean. (I haven't figured them out yet.) Some escalators, elevators, bathrooms, etc. have audible indicators to help you find them. There are tactile ground markers all over the place, though of course they're still only useful if you have some sense of where you need to go. On the flip side, I've seen very few audible trafic lights, and the ones I have seen are far too subtle, difficult to locate and hard to distinguish. This lack seems kinda strange given how far ahead Japan is in those other areas. Australia is far more consistent and practical in this one area IMO. 6. The public transport system is incredible; frequent, fast, efficient. To be fair, I live in Brisbane, so any decent public transport system impresses me.