Everyday Usability in Japan (Part 1)

While I design software for a living, it’s often the design of everyday physical objects which intrigues me the most. From ticket machines to toilets, every time I travel somewhere for the first time it always fascinates me to see the various ways people have solved the same problems – for better or worse.

While globalisation has led to a certain degree of homogenisation, especially within smartphones, the Galápagos syndrome (ガラパゴス化) is still alive and well in Japan where everything has developed in its own unique way. Below are just a few examples which I’ve noticed day-to-day in Tokyo.

Train ticket machines

Money pit

allows users to insert a travel card in any orientation at any point during a transaction
accepts coins as fast as you can throw them in (multiple at once)
complex edge cases are designed in rather than designed out of the system
this is what happens if you press the help button (must be seen to be believed)

Train ticket gates

Innocent until proven guilty

unlike other metro systems, gates remain open unless an invalid ticket is presented
designed with the assumption of users’ honesty (they have paid) rather than deception
saves time and power/energy by requiring gates to close/open less often
also accepts multiple tickets at once for multi-legged journeys

Toilet controls

Iconographic (in)appropriateness

if sanitation is a sign of economic development then perhaps Japan has gone too far!
way too many buttons (over-designed) & icon functions unclear/scary
most useful function (flush) is not obvious to non-Japanese speakers

Restaurant ticket machines

A picture is worth a thousand bowls of ramen

most popular dishes are usually shown as photos at the top (easy for non-Japanese speakers)
side dishes and drinks are shown as text below (lower priority)
allows small restaurants to run with minimal staff (1 -3 people often)

Fax machines

If it ain’t broke, fax it!

still heavily ingrained in business processes despite being a museum piece
sign of ageing population and “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” culture
perhaps a hand-written fax is more personal than an email?

ATM machines

Lost in transaction

after entering desired withdrawal amount you have to press 円 (yen) key rather than the more obvious green ENT key
pressing 万 (10,000) or 千 (1,000) could result in an undesired withdrawal amount
some ATMs adapt UI for foreign cards but buttons could still cause confusion

So what can we learn from all this?

Design for edge cases, rather than around them (when appropriate)
Trust your users (but not a loo with 27 buttons)
Use appropriate pictures & icons
Don’t count old tech out
Be language-neutral
Travel more!

Update: some interesting discussions going on about this on Reddit.

See Part 2 for more intriguing examples of how everyday objects in Japan are designed.

2013.10.23

Culture, Design, Japan, Technology

appliances, restaurants, toilets, user experience

Originally from the UK, David is product manager and wanderer currently based in Munich. Prior to this, he lived in Japan and China for over 15 years. He started Randomwire in 2003 to chronicle his travels and occasional musings. Feel free to drop him a line.

13 responses

Luke

2013.10.23

Really interesting, I am unsure that the constantly open ticket gates would work in the West; that said, is there any sort of sensor to stop people going through without submitting their card at all?

Reply
1. David
  
  2013.10.24
  
  Different lines have different types of machines but yes, I think on most if you walk through without presenting a valid card/ticket then the gates shut.
  
  Reply
  1. John Sausage
    
    2013.11.12
    
    The metro in Moscow use the same system. But if you don’t have a valid card, or the reading is not done correctly (if you swipe too fast for example) it will close. violently. in your knees.
    
    Also, for the toilet, the usual behavior is still respected : if you push the largest buttons, it will do the main use case (flushing).
    
    Reply
    1. Antonia
      
      2013.12.03
      
      It also happens in Kharkov. The gates remain open, and if you try to pass without putting a ticket (or an invalid ticket) through it closes. I didn’t believe it at first , but my sister told me to try it, glad my legs didn’t part from my body.
      
      Reply
  2. Steven
    
    2015.01.12
    
    Interestingly, when I tried invalid tickets on Tokyo gates, the gates shut but could easily force myself through (when staff found it ammusing to let us – othertimes, no so assumed staff would should and call you back).
    
    In Russia others have said, you’d need a bulldozer to get through the gates.
    
    Reply
Brandon

2013.10.24

Japanese companies do not design with non-Japanese speakers in mind. The shower toilet controls work well for anyone who knows Japanese and the flush buttons are the biggest and on top.

Also, the ATM buttons for 万・千 are shortcuts. They let you type 5万 instead of 50000. If you use them, you don’t need to hit 円.

Reply
Mike

2013.10.24

“Design for edge cases, rather than around them”

I am an amateur design lover and a huge Apple geek, full disclosure; I once heard Apple described as an 80/80 company: designing for 80% of the people 80% of the time. Yes, I know this sounds lazy, but it also frees the designer from, as you say, handling every single situation imaginable. Also, for a company with a ‘target market’ this is possible, for a designer of Subway Ticket machines in Japan, the target market is: every Japanese person (many different ages, varying degrees of eyesight etc). That’s still a pretty nice ‘niche’ FWIW.

Love this kind of analysis, please try to do more. I’m sure there are tons of examples around town. 😀

Reply
1. David
  
  2013.10.24
  
  Thanks Mike – the edge cases one has certainly sparked off some interesting conversations. I wouldn’t argue that you should always design for them since, as you touch on, this introduces a huge amount of additional complexity but in cases like a ticket machine it makes the experience as a whole so much easier.
  
  I already have half a dozen more examples, some are fairly esoteric, but I’ll try and do a follow up in a few weeks time.
  
  Reply
Japanese Design and Technology | ADITYA.SH

2013.10.24

[…] meticulous attention to details in terms of usability is a hallmark of Japanese products. Check out this blog post which highlights some of their design principles focusing on user experience. The author shares an […]

Reply
Sean wood

2013.11.15

Laughed out loud when I read this (on the train on the way to work – Chuo line Tokyo). Spot on description.

Reply
MK

2014.03.06

Hmm… I’m not sure that it is an honor system used for the subway entrances..

For example, in Berlin, in the public bus system (and perhaps the metro as well, I can’t quite remember) you time-stamp your ticket when you board on an automated machine – there is no turnstyle or person barring your entrance. But there are random checks – and you pay a hefty fine if you have paid less than you should or if you didn’t time stamp it. They are very strict about this.

Buses in Japan do have the conductor making sure you pay when you exit the bus. So perhaps knowing just a little bit about the culture, perhaps in this case there might be a shame thing if you don’t use a ticket. Everyone can see if you don’t feed anything into the machine. And there is an train station attendant watching everyone come through. If you are caught, it might be such a shameful experience for a japanese person, that might be what keeps people in check.

We should just ask a trainstation attendant how this is controlled, instead of making assumptions perhaps… I jsut think it is not as simple as what meets the eyes.

Reply
1. Vandana Jain
  
  2018.01.20
  
  I absolutely agree with you. Another point I would like to make is (since I lived there for about a decade and not being Japanese), we so often ask if they design for the western world, but do we ever question if the western world design with keeping the eastern world in mind?
  Japanese people are incredibly organized which is difficult to understand within cultures where everything goes with the flow. Their design mindset is not the same as the rest of the world, they are more organized and prepared because of disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis which plague their land more often than we know.
  So before we make assumptions of why they are not so western worldly in a few things, let’s try and understand.
  
  Reply
Japanese 101 – Misshoggy: A Memory Hogger

2016.04.18

[…] Japan ticket machines, courtesy of Randomwire […]

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