Japan Times: Baffled Foreign Tourists Get Little Help On Trains

Above, a sign in Japanese and English at Tokyo Station. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The primary mode of transportation Tokyo and the rest of Japan is by subway and other trains.

Fortunately, for those of us from English-speaking countries, Japan has bi-lingual signs (Japanese/English) that makes figuring out if you're at the correct track or train much easier. Tourists from other countries aren't so fortunate.

The Japan Times reported:

Although Asian tourists are flocking to Japan in greater numbers, many are at a loss in railway stations, where few signs are written in languages other than Japanese and English. 

Several railways, including East Japan Railway Co. (JR East), are making modest efforts to present station names in Chinese and Korean, but Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai), which operates the Tokaido Shinkansen Line, has decided to offer announcements in English only.

Although signs in other languages outside of Japanese or English are extremely rare, there is one tool that JR Tokai provides to help those outside of the Japanese and English language sphere:

For those who do not speak English, brochures in French, Chinese and Korean are available at information counters. And some directions on signs are given in the form of symbols rather than words.

Most railways cite the limited space on their signs that preclude them from adding other languages. They would have to install bigger signs in order to accommodate other languages, some railway companies say.

To read the full article, go here.