Tactile Ground Indicators

Sounds like it could be a new secret government weapon, but it is nothing of the sort. When first arriving in Japan, I noticed that they have these yellow lines everywhere: on the sidewalks, at bus and train stations; just about anywhere where you will find people walking.

The tiles are maybe a foot wide and made out of a hard, rubbery plastic material. At first I thought that maybe they were grippy paths for people to walk on in the rain for extra traction, but it sounds like a lot of work and money for the government to spend for such a mundane purpose.

I finally broke down and asked my wife about them and she told me that these paths are used by blind people to navigate with their cane - the long straight lines indicate the direction of the path and the little knobby dot patterns inform the blind person that an intersection or stairway is coming up.

I am constantly amazed by the consideration and politeness that the Japanese culture displays again and again for its citizens; whether it is by these paths, the fact that street signs are in Japanese AND English despite the fact that there are far less English speakers in Japan than there are Spanish speakers in America and yet Americans despise "pressing 1 for English" and that there are city maps on practically every street corner, making it impossible to get lost.

It just goes to show you what a country that doesn't spend trillions of dollars on weapons and armies can do to make life just a little more pleasant for its citizens.