RANT 'N' RAVE
Yellow Line Fever
The "yellow brick road" it is
not! Ah... that treacherous, bumpy yellow line found on more footpaths than glitzy
hostesses. A guide for the blind in Japan - a bane of my life in Japan. Although I must
admit that I have been known to follow this line in moments of extreme exhaustion or
shameful drunkenness, I've been dodging the line for six months now.
Perhaps the reason why I've never seen a TC Rant or Rave about it is that no one
really notices it. Friends who have lived here for years first heard about the bumpy path
when I launched into one of my frequent "yellow bloody line" rambles. Surely
they are a) numbed to their surroundings (a Japanese epidemic) and b) walking in shoes
which are unheeled and spongy.
It was a freezing day in January when the line and I first met. I was all suited up and
bleary eyed for my first day of teaching and almost didn't make it out of the station when
I toppled over the yellow line in my new heels. Since that day, the line has popped up in
the most amazing places: theme parks, post offices, shopping centers and even jogging
tracks.
The most common species is the yellow bumpy variety, but it can be found in a chameleon
form where it is camouflaged with existing flooring. The latter variety is obviously the
most dangerous due to the high difficult-to-dodge factor.
It took me three days to ask a native what was going on with the line thing. "It's
for the blind," I was logically told. Of course! Why not spend a fortune on materials
and labor to aid this minority group while the physically disadvantaged are
defeated daily by millions of stairs.
I've kept an eagle eye out for people that actually use the line - or just blind people in
general. So far I've seen three. To my disbelief, two of them were not using the line at
all. One man accidentally walked on the line and quickly diverted himself so as not to
nearly trip up again. And finally, after months of neglect, I saw the line being used! Yes
- a legitimate user was navigating his way around Chiba station with ease. I can't express
the happiness I felt to finally see the line meeting its purpose.
My elation was short lived, however, as the man missed a corner and crossed into no man's
land (or no lines land). He walked around in a circular fashion, similar to ripples in a
pond made by a pebble, until he found his way back again.
My eyebrows furrowed again.
So since we all must endure this seemingly useless line, here are some ideas to make it
more useful:
1) Color-code it to lead to different lines in the bigger stations such as JR Tokyo (we
need all the help we can get).
2) Have signs that say "follow red line to post office" or some other much
needed, but always concealed government building.
3) Advertise on them. Why not? Every other surface in Japan is up for grabs. This would
enable some costs to be recouped and perhaps other disadvantaged groups could be helped.
Gaijin for example...
Many thanks to reader Gabrielle Peroni for this Rant.
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