Restroom Map for the Blind

In the future, the train tracks at our local station will be underground. They built a station above the present station building and train tracks. So, there is a new temporary station to figure out.

This is a map of the restrooms! It is located outside the Men's restroom but it is a map for both. It was designed for blind people. See the speaker at the bottom? When someone walks up, a recording starts describing the map of the restrooms. There is braille at every point on the map, too. Once a blind person can find this map, he will know where to go in the restroom!

As I was leaving the station, I noticed there was a map like this for the whole station near the newspaper and snack kiosk. Oh! Maybe there are other ones at the entrances to direct them to these other maps. I'll check next time. If not, how would they find the other maps?

P.S. No, there were no maps at the entrance!

Scaffolding Safety

This is scaffolding on a building. It is right in the middle of the sidewalk. Workers wrapped some of the poles in foam so that people walking by wouldn't get hurt if they bumped into them. They also put up cones and bars so that people won't walk under the scaffolding.

Note the yellow strip along the middle of the sidewalk. That is a guide for blind people. Click on the label "disability" below to find out more about it.

Braille Train Information

Today for the first time, I saw braille train guides next to the ticket machines at two stations. Click to enlarge. How does a blind person know which button to push for her ticket? I never noticed, but maybe there is a button to push for the machine to speak. I'll look. It may take a few days because we're not going by train anywhere soon.

Click on the labels below or do a search for more "braille" and more aids for the blind.

Braille on a Jam Jar

Why do you think there is braille on a jam jar? Can any of you read braille?

This is blueberry jam made by Aohata. Blueberry and strawberry were the only "flavors" of jam made here when I first came many years ago. Nowadays this company makes jams from other fruit like apricot, fig, and lemon. You could and can find imported jams.

Braille on Station Railings

I went through several stations today without the big camera. I noticed that most of the railings on staircases had Braille on them. My mobile telephone doesn't take very distinct pictures, so I looked through my archives. I found this picture. I took it a long time ago, but I didn't post it. Click on the labels below to see more aids for the blind.

The Way to the Shrine

Workers are putting yellow strips in the sidewalk outside a department store. The sidewalk leads from the Keio train station to Okunitama Shrine in Fuchu. The strips are for the blind. There are raised stripes on them so a blind person can find the way.

You may want to click on the "disability" label below to see other pictures of these strips.

Special Green Light

When I entered a department store I go to often, the sign under this green light caught my eye. The sign said "Push for Assistance" in Japanese and in English. There was a big red button below the sign. At first I thought it was for customers who needed help with items, but then I saw the rest of the display. It was for people in wheelchairs. See the picture below.




There were stacks of trays and baskets. The tray could be strapped around a person's waist to hold the shopping basket in place. The service was provided by the 7-Eleven Corporation that also owned the department store.

Changing Trains

Big Sister went to a school festival today. She is in her last year of junior high school. Part of her summer homework was to make appointments to visit at least three schools. Going to their fall festivals will give her an idea which one to choose. She will take exams for three schools in January or February.

Litle Brother and I went out to lunch today. We got to ride in a new train on our usual train line. We sat and compared it to the old ones. We decided it was much nicer.




I will post a picture of the inside of an old train later. The new one seemed larger. We noticed the windows were larger and they were tinted. Even so, the sun was hot. A lady jumped up to pull down the shades, but there weren't any. This new, improved train had no shades.




This sign is in most corner seats of trains. Can you figure out what it says by looking at the pictures? There are priority seats on buses, too.

Walking home from the station, I was thinking of Grandparents' Day when all of a sudden a very old man zoomed past us on his bicycle. He was holding a cane in one hand while gripping the handlebar!

It reminded me of a friend who was using a cane because she had hurt her foot. I went with her to the airport. She was about to miss her plane so she took off running. Running with a cane. That's what you would call "mind over body". That seems hopeful to me. Just yesterday I posted about carts with seats for the elderly. Today I saw another exceptional old person.

At the Station 2: Lines for the Blind

These are the stairs leading to the train platform. Note the red and white markers along the side. They are raised strips for people who are blind, but they also reflect light in case the lights go out in the station. The yellow strip at the bottom of the stairs is for blind people to follow to find the stairs. They can also follow them to find the exits when they are coming down the stairs. There are raised stripes on it so they can feel where to go.


Blind people can follow the yellow strip up the stairs. There are three squares of raised dots that signal to them to stop. There is a yellow strip along the platform of raised dots. It is a signal to stop and not go beyond the line.


The train will stop and the door will open at the squares of raised dots. That is where a blind person will most likely be standing to catch the train.