Japan and the Disabled

It seemed that Japan used to ignore the disabled. You hardly ever saw a developmentally delayed person in public, let alone the mobility challenged. They always supported the sight challenged though by giving them input through their feet, which is pretty ingenious. Nearly everywhere you go in Japan, a visually impaired person can easily go as well.

Here are some pictures of the train station. This is the edge of the platform. It has grey raised rubber nearest the edge to warn you to stay away. Before that is a yellow band with raised dots letting you know there is danger ahead and you should not go closer than this (also helpful for silly high school boys showing off and drunk salarymen).

As you travel, they line the path with long raised yellow bars. These often appear along sidewalks as well. The new block of dots, both to the left and right in this picture indicate that stairs are coming up.
Now days, you see many disabled people in public. What brought on this change in my opinion? Was it more insight to the plight of the disabled? No, it was the aging of Japan. You see there are many, many more elderly people than young people in Japan. The young people are not reproducing as fast as they should. They have careers now.

The elderly are economically powerful and cannot be ignored. So, since I last was here four years ago, nearly all train stations, even small outliers, have put in escalators (common in downtown Toyko but not elsewhere) and/or elevators (unheard of in a train station!). Now, it is easy for everyone to get around, work, and travel.

Freedom!

This trip I'm able to travel by myself and actually go places of my choosing. What made this possible? Did I study my kanji relentlessly? No way. It's because of this little wonder-

A SUICA card!

You would think that as technologically proficient as the Japanese are they would have made a smartcard that you can keep loading with yen sooner. But, Japan's train system is privatized so there are many lines owned by many different companies and you have buy the right ticket or tickets.

This is how I used to have to get around. First go to the station and get a ticket-That line of different colors near the middle is the different train companies you must choose from. I would have to have my husband buy the tickets because I can't read kanji too well and this local map of stations (below) and fares doesn't make too much sense, although I could buy and travel in an eight station range by myself.

After you figure this out and buy the right ticket, you go through the turnstyles
and battle your way through the people and get on a train that is often standing room only.

Your fellow riders or Pervs in Japan

I do love taking the trains but you have to allow for local customs. For instance this picture I quietly took on the train-

There are soooo many things wrong here. See how he's sitting with his legs crossed? Only Japanese men can do that on the train! Women are not allowed to sit with their legs crossed.

Do you see what he is drinking on the train? Well here is a close up that I borrowed to make sure it would be clear-

That's right, beer!

And what is he reading? Soft porn. This is normal relaxation for a businessman in Japan!

Trains in Japan

You take trains everywhere in Japan. Your local train station is virtually your address. Houses closer to the local train station (walking distance) are worth more. We live pretty close: its only a five block walk. Here is some pictures of the local station-





If you live a little farther or you want to travel in between, the bike is the transportation of choice. You bike to the station and park your bike in one of the many bike parking lots. Bikes do get stolen but it is rare.



I love taking the trains. This is part of the reason the Japanese stay so fit. You have to walk or bike to the station. All stations are on the second story and you have to climb two very steep flights buy the ticket and then go down two steep flights of stairs to get on to the platform. When you arrive... up two and down two.