Tokyo Metro’s ad campaign comes in the form of eye catching yellow and white posters that feature an image and a phrase, in English and Japanese, starting with “Please do it…”.

Want to be a lazy slob with your stuff strewn around you?  Tokyo Metro says “Please do it at home” in the first of this series of  ads that started in appearing in the city’s subway stations in April.  Some of the other things that Tokyo Metro wants you to do at home include:

• Putting on your make up,  a common sight on trains and the subway in Tokyo despite the reminder. (May)
• Talking on your cell phone (June)
• Playing music loud enough for others to hear (July)

In August, a poster declared “Please do it at the beach” and portrays an image of someone wading through a crowd to get on a train as the doors are closing.  When you hear the station music start it’s a sign that the doors are about to close and rushing to get on the train is probably not the safest thing that you could do.  You’d be better off taking a deep breath and waiting for the next train, it’s usually no more then a 10 minute wait.

The most current poster reminds riders not to bring luggage and large packages on the trains with the phrase “Please do it on the mountain“.   This is presumably a reminder to the thousands of people that make the trek up Mount Fuji each summer in Japan with backpacks and walking sticks in tow.  Taking large packages on the train is not only disruptive to the other riders but is very frustrating and is something that is best avoided, especially during busy hours, as even packages from a day of shopping can be very hard to manage on a crowded train.

Tokyo Metro has also created women only cars so that women don’t have to be subject to gropers during busy times when the trains are packed to capacity.  They also remind us often about using cell phones in “manner mode” which means don’t answer your phone or let it ring when you are on the trains.

Tokyo Metro isn’t the only entity reminding people of their manners.  Japan Tobacco has also created a series of posters that remind smokers to use designated smoking areas, not to litter, and not to smoke when they walk in their Smokers’ Style Campaign which are also bilingual.

Image Credit:  Personal Collection

Post from: The Tokyo Traveler

An Evening with a Kyoto Maiko is Something Foreigners can Enjoy Too offers insight into a world that few get to witness in person.

A novel approach to matchmaking in Japan tries to engage cupid over a round of golf or while getting hot and steamy at a cooking class.  On the same subject, many parents are desperately trying to marry off their kids by attending parties hosted by matchmakers.

William Pesek talks about how Japan implicitly encourages smoking in his article “Cough! Japan Is Puffer’s Paradise With Friends“.

While promoting his new book “When You Are Engulfed in Flames“, David Sedaris visited The Daily Show and talked about moving to Japan to quit smoking.  He read that the best way to quit smoking was to move and he chose Japan, not normally considered a smoke free haven.

Post from: The Tokyo Traveler

Don’t forget to participate in the poll in the sidebar and leave me a comment at “What do you want to know about Tokyo?“. I’ll be featuring some of the questions and providing answers throughout the month of June.

Anime and Manga are hot in Hollywood – but other American cities are getting in on this popular trend as well.

The Mob in Japan – a true tale of a foreign crime writer who now fears his safety and that of his family because of his reporting on the Yakuza.

The New Age Of Japanese Baseball Player Media Coverage is interesting reading. It provides a some historical perspective on Japanese players in the MLB and also discuss the process that those players need to go through to be eligible to play n the United States.

How Toyota used kaizen, the Japanese principle of slow and steady improvement, to sell 160,000 more cars than GM in the first quarter of 2008. In a culture where it is commonly believed that the top down approach to management is prevalent, Toyota receives and implements about 1 million ideas a year mostly from the workers on the factory floor.

Identifying underage smokers with facial recognition software could be implemented when you try to purchase cigarettes from vending machines in Japan.

Lastly,is Japan growing opium poppies?

Photo Credit: Anime Los Angeles 2008

Post from: The Tokyo Traveler