We went to school in NYC and the subway warnings were tough: No Spitting, No Radio Playing, No Vigilante Heroics (We're talking to you,
Bernhard Goetz). In Japan, rules are never broken, but manners might be forgotten. Let's crank up the PSA posters.
Chivalry is alive and well down in the subway. Women get their own cars. It seems animals also get to ride the underground rails. Is that a visiting koala bear behind the hurrying gentleman?
Bring us your tired, blind, aged, folks with bad backs, the easily tripped! And we'll remind you to be nice to them. Don't read newspapers around pregnant women! Stop texting in front of the blind!
If all else fails, watch out for Ghostbuster-like day-glo elves falling on tracks and rescuing themselves.
So cool. I love it! I want a "manners" sign for the hooligan teenagers staying next door to me in the hotel. And smack their faces with it.
ReplyDeleteI heard that the local trains in Mumbai also have "Ladies Only" compartments, and that during evening rush hour the ladies would all be getting off work, they'd pick up something really quick, and start preparing for dinner on the train, eg. chopping vegetables, etc. Vegetable are also sold on the train, so those who didn't have time to shop don't have to worry. Imagine hundreds of women all together chopping vegetables, preparing for the dinner, gossiping about their husbands, and exchanging recipe - an interesting scene to watch, isn't it? - A guide told me about this when I was there. Too bad I didn't get to see it. Wonder if you have? Hope to see some pictures.
ReplyDeleteThe drawing on the Manners poster is quite elaborative, compare to the usual signs you would find above the seats. To go into such trouble to only convey such simple messages really shows Japanese people's love for drawing. And they are really good at it, hence their world famous comic books.