4 ms·

I believe in Japan, people walk on the left side.

by catalogia 6y ago

bamboozled 6y ago
Many people in Japan don't drive so they don't really think about "sides" like people who come from car cultures do.
- FemmeAndroid 6y ago
  Interesting! That’s a bit surprising to me. In Japan they have the yellow tiles with bumps near the center of most city sidewalks that I always assumed was a kind of lane system. If it’s not to create lanes, what are those tiles for?
  - laurieg 6y ago
    They are tactile paving for blind and partially sighted people. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tactile_paving https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tactile_paving
  - jstarfish 6y ago
    Lanes for the blind.
- zeeZ 6y ago
  They come in contact with it though, from those driving around them. Then there are other customs, like standing on the left side of escalators (except for Osaka, where it used to be the right side, but now it's mostly the side the line is already on). From my personal experience people in the major cities seem to prefer dodging to the left, all things being equal.
- catalogia 6y ago
  I didn't say anything about cars and as Hamuko has pointed out, it predates cars. Wikipedia supports this claim, though doesn't cite it.
- kairumination0 6y ago
  This. As a driver and a long-term resident in Tokyo, I try to stay to the left as a pedestrian, but I estimate the odds of the other party doing the same are 50/50.
  - bamboozled 6y ago
    Yeah, and you also see people being paid to direct the flow of human traffic at the super busy stations.
Hamuko 6y ago
They drive on the left side because they walk on the left side. They say the origin for left-hand traffic in Japan comes from the Edo period where samurai, who wore their swords on the left side, would walk on the left side of the road to avoid clashing swords with each other.
- prerok 6y ago
  Left hand side vs right hand side has a really complicated history. A lot of Europe was left hand side first as well, although I just learned from Wikipedia that that might be myth: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-_and_right-hand_traffic https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-_and_right-hand_traffic
laurieg 6y ago
Japanese sidewalls are rather paradoxical: where rules and order are so valued, pedestrians are in chaos. People walk 4 abreast, walk in bicycle lanes, randomly change direction without looking etc. Escalators are even stranger. There are signs everywhere telling people to stand on both sides. These are completely ignoreed. People fill up one side completely and leave the other side empty for the occasional walker.
- zeeZ 6y ago
  The escalator one depends on how busy it is. During rush hour or when the line at the "entrance" begins to grow longer the free side gets a lot more traffic, though usually people will still try to walk on that side in order to not block the "fast lane".
- kairumination0 6y ago
  ^ This guy has really been in Japan! There is no standard of walking on the left or the right. People don't follow vehicle driving protocols because many of them never have or will drive. "Paradoxical" is absolutely the best way to describe Japanese pedestrian behavior.
chewz 6y ago
It depends... 60-Hz AC in Osaka and 50 Hz in Tokyo. Standing on the left of the escalator in Tokyo and on the right in Osaka. Oh Japan.. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2011/07/19/reference/japans-incompatible-power-grids/ https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2011/07/19/reference/japan... https://kotaku.com/its-hard-for-japan-to-change-its-escalator-manners-1835682161 https://kotaku.com/its-hard-for-japan-to-change-its-escalato...

I believe in Japan, people walk on the left side.

bamboozled 6y ago

Many people in Japan don't drive so they don't really think about "sides" like people who come from car cultures do.

FemmeAndroid 6y ago
Interesting! That’s a bit surprising to me. In Japan they have the yellow tiles with bumps near the center of most city sidewalks that I always assumed was a kind of lane system. If it’s not to create lanes, what are those tiles for?
- laurieg 6y ago
  They are tactile paving for blind and partially sighted people. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tactile_paving https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tactile_paving
- jstarfish 6y ago
  Lanes for the blind.
zeeZ 6y ago
They come in contact with it though, from those driving around them. Then there are other customs, like standing on the left side of escalators (except for Osaka, where it used to be the right side, but now it's mostly the side the line is already on). From my personal experience people in the major cities seem to prefer dodging to the left, all things being equal.
catalogia 6y ago
I didn't say anything about cars and as Hamuko has pointed out, it predates cars. Wikipedia supports this claim, though doesn't cite it.
kairumination0 6y ago
This. As a driver and a long-term resident in Tokyo, I try to stay to the left as a pedestrian, but I estimate the odds of the other party doing the same are 50/50.
- bamboozled 6y ago
  Yeah, and you also see people being paid to direct the flow of human traffic at the super busy stations.

Hamuko 6y ago

They drive on the left side because they walk on the left side. They say the origin for left-hand traffic in Japan comes from the Edo period where samurai, who wore their swords on the left side, would walk on the left side of the road to avoid clashing swords with each other.

prerok 6y ago
Left hand side vs right hand side has a really complicated history. A lot of Europe was left hand side first as well, although I just learned from Wikipedia that that might be myth: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-_and_right-hand_traffic https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-_and_right-hand_traffic

laurieg 6y ago

Japanese sidewalls are rather paradoxical: where rules and order are so valued, pedestrians are in chaos. People walk 4 abreast, walk in bicycle lanes, randomly change direction without looking etc. Escalators are even stranger. There are signs everywhere telling people to stand on both sides. These are completely ignoreed. People fill up one side completely and leave the other side empty for the occasional walker.

zeeZ 6y ago
The escalator one depends on how busy it is. During rush hour or when the line at the "entrance" begins to grow longer the free side gets a lot more traffic, though usually people will still try to walk on that side in order to not block the "fast lane".
kairumination0 6y ago
^ This guy has really been in Japan! There is no standard of walking on the left or the right. People don't follow vehicle driving protocols because many of them never have or will drive. "Paradoxical" is absolutely the best way to describe Japanese pedestrian behavior.

chewz 6y ago

It depends... 60-Hz AC in Osaka and 50 Hz in Tokyo. Standing on the left of the escalator in Tokyo and on the right in Osaka. Oh Japan.. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2011/07/19/reference/japans-incompatible-power-grids/ https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2011/07/19/reference/japan... https://kotaku.com/its-hard-for-japan-to-change-its-escalator-manners-1835682161 https://kotaku.com/its-hard-for-japan-to-change-its-escalato...