Transportation, via Japan

Art in Transit, Shibuya Station Tokyo

The desire for transportation is an insatiable request that becomes more complex with growing access. At basic levels, transportation is required for necessary accessibility; for socialization, employment and services. On secondary levels, transportation satisfies yearnings to define a sense of meaning in one’s live. Transportation transcends the physical form, and becomes an exploration and creation of new landscapes in the mind’s eye. For both levels, transportation is an expression of perspective and sentiment.

This photo essay transports you to Japan through the eyes of the essayist. The essayist has is motivated to uncover the meaning of transportation for herself. She hopes that you, too, will be able to discover for yourself, the meaning of transportation.

On a normal day, I was transported into Japan. I chose to be held captive in an aircraft - the A380. Majestic though it was, the aircraft was still subjected to air turbulence, an area it could only mitigate and not control.

I caught the aircraft from the outside. It was supported by other vehicles, all running to the ‘mother ship’, waiting to collect and transfer luggage onto the conveyor belt. Seamless support systems like these secondary vehicles are crucial.

Once into Tokyo, we took the subway. Subway lines are typically concentrated about the epicenter, and then disperse aerially away from the center.

The visible presence of train crew and drivers, a dissimilarity with Singapore, is evident in the Japan system. The human presence in the transportation system generates respect and tolerance, as dependence on the industry for a livelihood is felt. What is mere transportation to one man is a means of sustenance for another. Despite being a technologically advanced nation, the humanity in technology is retained and not discarded.

The train system is a basic form of transport in Japan. Contact with basic level of transport happens daily. The choice of mode, however, is a statement of priorities an individual holds. It reflects the objective of transport.

Unlike Singapore, ticketing machines are placed closer to each other. This arrangement is likely due to the large volume of commuters in the stations. Interestingly, there is a non-automated worker who works behind the machines to ensure its smooth running. Having to employ a person suggests the lack of user-friendliness of buying a ticket. It questions the relationship between man and machine. The capability of the latter is the design of man.

Love Hotel, Shibuya, Tokyo

I cannot help but draw a relation here, between ticket purchase in trains and room selection in love hotels. Love Hotels in Shibuya employ the most discreet ways of room selection. Rooms are displayed on the reflective screen, with the number and rates. Selecting a room requires a mere depression of a button and insertion of money. It is a capitalist exploitation and identification of the need for secrecy in these voyages. This mode of selection is almost like D-I-Y buying of train tickets. For all the seeming discreteness, one wonders who sits behind the reflective screens… just like in purchasing a train ticket.

Commuters alight and board at Shibuya station.

Despite the heavy commuter traffic, effort is made to introduce art and aesthetics into the station. A beautiful purple flower is displayed on ground. Japanese also have the practice of making carriage numbers known to commuters.

Just above train doors, screens are fitted in to communicate information (see top left picture). These screens communicate information dynamically. They convey route and time information, courtesy messages and door opening information. Such a dynamic system enables flexibility of information communicated. It is also useful in maximizing space for advertisements aboard the train, which densely populate Japanese trains.

Japanese trains are plastered with advertisements. They hang from above, are stuck along the curve of the cabin, placed at eye level near the doors and even employ new media forms through the screen above the door. The arsenal of advertisements reflects the profit motive of train operators. More importantly, the notion of the self as a captive audience in public transport emerges. Transport systems are good avenues to build a national identity through psychological advertisements.

There is flexibility built into Japanese trains. This seat is not to be used before ten in the mornings during weekdays to cater to the rush hour crowd. This flexibility gives users a form of discretionary control over the equipment, and marks also the ability of commuters to adhere to these initiatives.

Adherence to initiatives are communicated in a guided manner by train operators. This train differs from the rest by clearly demarcating a zone for priority seating, in the carriage just behind the train driver. Distinguishing between priority and usual commuters is advantageous in ensuring a rightful place to priority commuters, yet possibly disadvantageous if usual commuters fail to offer seats not specifically designated as ‘priority’.

The colours of the boxes representing each priority group are interesting to analyse. The elderly, for example, are represented in green, the colour of growth and youth.

The characteristic of transportation, as a derived demand, is shown best through this boy who is reading on the train. In fact, a fair amount of commuters read pocket sized books on trains. The practice of reading comes from the presence of in-station book stores, and the prevalence of pocket books, both serving to encourage readership through convenience.

While it is difficult to determine whether the demand for books led to the opening of bookstores and vice versa, it can be safely deduced that infrastructure is necessary to support the growth of a culture.

Station gates in Japan stay open for a much longer time than in Singapore. To prevent unlawful uses of train services, a sensor is in place to prevent exit if a ticket is not inserted into the machine. The longer opening of gates allows large volume of commuters to pass through quickly. The outward opening of the gates also prevent injuries which the clamping gates in Singapore potentially inflict on elderly and young commuters.

Nonetheless, although station gates are required for fare payment purposes, they remain a bottleneck to the flow of commuters in and out of the station.

Fare payment in transport services has a filtering effect that can be likened to immigration restrictions. It limits entry of the non-compliant, and slows the flow of compliant commuters. Yet, it is necessary for the functioning of the transport company, just as in this case where it is necessary for the health safety of Japan.

A more high-speed transport in Japan is the Shinkansen. The Shinkansen offers high-speed inter-city services. It proves itself as a transport tool that has become a symbol of national identity in Japanese. At the same time, it expresses and fuels the desire for speed and connectivity among Japanese. There is strong inter-modal integration between the Shinkansen and railway trains, likely because they are operated by the same companies.

There are three types of Shinkansens: Nozomi, which stops at almost no intermediate station; Hikari, which stops only at major intermediate station; and Kodama, which stops at each station.

This concept of express train can be adopted in Singapore to facilitate faster access into the CBD.

There are demarcations on the ground, which guide commuters to the standing position. The spacing shows it was designed for individual passengers, possibly suggesting that the Shinkansen is used largely for business trips rather than family leisure affairs.

A man reads his paper aboard the Shinkansen

Another mode of public transport in Japan is the bus. The bus was, noticeably, more popular in Kyoto than in Tokyo, likely a result of the less extensive coverage in the former. The presence of the elderly has led to an innovation, where buses tilt to facilitate ease in boarding.

While there are innovations to enable elderly transport, certain areas have been given little attention. Some bus stops in Japan do not have shelters and seats. Although this could be due to lower usage of these bus stops, this arrangement can be inconvenient in bad weather.

Impressive features of the bus include a schedule of timings which buses adhere to with precise punctuality. Although bus headway can go up to thirty minutes, the schedule sacredness allows pre-planning on the part of the commuter. This feature infuses the bus system with reliability, and should be adopted in Singapore.

Buses in Japan are boarded from the rear. Season pass holders insert their passes into the machine on the left, while non-pass holders collect a ticket from the machine on the right. Payment is done upon alighting under the approval of the bus captain.

A screen at the front of the bus conveys the fare amount to be paid. This screen also conveys which stop the bus is approaching.

When pressed, the alighting button lights up. This indication of acknowledgement is more effective than the ‘bus stopping’ signs in Singapore, which at times malfunction or are hidden from visibility.

A mode of transport unique in Japan is cycling. Cycling became popular because, under 5km, it requires the shortest time to get from one place to another within the inner city. Infrastructure support for bicycles are present in the cities.

Designated cycling paths are found throughout Japanese cities. While Singapore is slowly opening to the idea of cycling, it is mostly for leisure purposes at parks, rather than for purposes such as shopping, as in Japan.

Governmental efforts encourage cycling in cities. On Sundays in Tokyo, this stretch of road outside the Imperial Palace is closed to cars. It is converted into recreational ground for cyclists, with police vehicles monitoring the safety and abidance to the initiative.

Yet, allowing bicycles into the city also comes with the consequences of errant cyclists who park their bicycles in undesignated areas. There are two possibilities that can be read from their actions: failure of parking policy to meet demand for parking space, or a rapid congestion of bicycles.

The question, why should there be designated parking space for bicycle should also be asked. A practical perspective refers us back to the concept of the city as a collective, common space. Maintenance of what is seen as order, draws parameters between private and public space in an area defined to be public.

A randomly parked bicycle is issued a pink warning slip carefully tied on. Cyclists in Kyoto blatantly disregard a ‘No Bicycle Parking’ notice.

The proliferation of cyclists challenges the pre-bicycle concept of space. Both cyclists, affected shop owners and the municipal government fight to redefine given space. Law and authority come into the equation, at least outwardly. Extending this to the bigger picture of transport, it can be observed that various players interact together to define a constantly changing transportation system.

Bicycles and rickshaws are not allowed from 0800 – 2100hs at

Shijo Street in Kyoto

No riding of bicycle sign along the very same street.

Enforcement and deterrence to disobeying cyclists culminate in the Bicycle Removal Zone

Shops along Shijo street erect their own signage to ward

off cyclists.

Space becomes important in emergency situation. The ambulance here goes against traffic to fulfill its duties, navigating the limited space.

A malfunction in the traffic system is, interestingly, treated using the same system. Since there is obvious difficulty in opposing the flow of vehicles, why isn’t an alternative mode used? Shouldn’t a motorcycle be used to weave through the crowd before the arrival of the ambulance? Why isn’t a helicopter used, if lives were that important?

The fragility of human lives comes through when accidents occur. It is the only time I become conscious of the fact that vehicles and man are separate entities. In densely populated Japan, ambulances are an everyday deployment. In all ten days of the trip, we never failed to spot an ambulance.

Because roads in Japan are narrow, the probability of accidents to occur is high. The collided goods lorry is tightly pushed against the road barrier. The high probability of accidents also encourages safety officers to hold high standards. Obvious features are the white helmets and black boots they don, a requirement barely seen in Singapore.

This bend is an accident prone zone. To what extent are pre-warning signs effective? In the same vein of thought, to what extent are systems like Smartway effective in reducing accidents? The effectiveness hinges upon a drivers willingness to imbibe these precautions.

The signages in Japan are, fascinatingly, more colorful and animated than Singapore’s. The red explosion dramatizing the collision is designed for signage effectiveness, reflecting possibly a danger-aware society.

An aerial view of a junction in Osaka shows the presence of vehicles like cars, taxis and bicycles. The motorcycle is rare in Japanese society, and

when used, is usually to express a fashion statement.

Pedestrian crossings, unlike Singapore, are zebra-lined. Such design seem present in East Asian countries. The intention is perhaps to clearly

demarcate pedestrian crossings.

Close observation also show that streets are lined with markings on ground for the visually disabled. Given the growing number of cyclists, combining

the ground markings for the blind with directional pointers for cyclists would enhance the usefulness of these ground markings.

Individual expression, in terms of vehicle, can only be done through private vehicles. When the tool of transport, that is the vehicle, becomes a form of expression, human qualities are very much engraved upon these systems.

This road just before Osaka Station is unique, for the function of each lane is well marked by arrows on ground and overhead. It highlights the importance of effective guidance and easy understanding of instructions necessary in an efficient transportation system.

The directional language of arrows used in transport is also seen in small, unusual ways.

In Arashiyama, Kyoto, tiny silver tiles pointing towards the capital city of Kyoto are scattered across the town.

Japanese society is impressively inclusive, catering to the disabled. Disability needs are in-built into public infrastructure. At Waseda University, disabled students have an office which addresses their concerns. Special auditory tunes are also installed for the disabled to cross roads safely. Public phones come with Braille engraved onto the card reader.

Looking specifically at the transportation system, it means that the system engages the disabled. Roads are lined with ground mats for the visually impaired. Railings have Braille to describe to the visually impaired the surroundings. Japan’s transportation system, presently, is a more widely accessible system than Singapore’s.

Marked on the road in Japanese characters is ‘Taxi’. Japanese have a penchant for marking designated areas for vehicles. It perhaps makes the traffic system neat and clear, bringing out the importance of the element of ‘guiding’ in transport systems.

The inclination towards colored road markings are also observed at a the Fujikawa rest stop along the expressway. This practice of coloring roads is used in Singapore to make it perfectly clear to car users that they should give way to buses.

Kobe University, Graduate School of Maritime Sciences

Maritime transportation is central in Japan, especially for transporting freight, because cities are near the coast, and because mountainous geography dissuades inland development.

I had never been to a Maritime College before, and had never heard of the Singapore Maritime Academy. It struck me, in my first visit to a Maritime College, that man and sea were separate entities with at best little harmony. Yet, the body of water holds the greatest potential for connection between countries. The same water stretches between countries, and touches the shores of each country.

The ship is also ground for a different level of discovery. When it leaves the bay, the ship transforms into a central buoy for survival. Sailors not only explore waters, but the ‘inward beliefs of themselves and one another’, as Joseph Conrad writes in the Heart of Darkness.

While roads can be marked, seas cannot. The difference between marine and land transportation, is the greater load of work tobe done in marine transport. There is less guidance from the system, i.e.: traffic lights, signage. Instead, supreme proficiency in orienteering and compass use is required. Knowledge of engines are also necessary.

It is not always that transportation is a derived demand. Transportation can be demanded for leisure, as in this ferris wheel at Yokohama Bay.

The opposite forces of being enabled and disabled come to the fore, here. On the one hand, being on the ferris wheel enables a powerful height and overview of the city. Yet, on the other hand, man is held captive by the circular fixed path of the ferris wheel.

Trapped in such duality, it is the prevailing consciousness of being enabled or disabled that decides individual sentiment towards this form of transport.

Traditional modes of transport also serve experiential purposes.

Transport here reflect s hierarchy in society. With gritted teeth, the single rickshaw man pulls with bull force his two passengers – geishas. He is their servant. As geishas, they are themselves servants when hosting male clientele. Societal relations undergo change in different scenarios. They seem fixed but are often ambiguous. As in this case, the two passengers are but well painted tourists in the disguise of geishas.

At times, transport is used for the purpose of beautification and cleanliness, not only for man but also for ‘freight’ management.

In the canteen of Tokyo Institute of Technology, tray return is styled upon on a conveyor belt. This system is superior to the system in NUS, in terms of packaging and beautification, of which both are Japanese concerns. The use of transport here is intended to serve beauty and hygiene purposes. Transport is meant for a variety of purposes.

Apart from the actual form of transport, the concept of transport has been used in fictitious forms, such as toys. Toy vehicles and figurines are ubiquitous in Japanese markets. Each model vehicle radiates the hunger for possession.

Sky Shop, Tokyo Tower

Transportation ideas are related to everyday architecture. Both the Meiji shrine overhead and the Ameyoko market overhead share similarities. It allows the passage of man, but hypocritically demarcates an entry into territory defined by the relevant owner or authority. This design is similar to that of the Electronic Road Pricing system in Singapore. The architecture in transport has roots in earlier days.

In Japan, a way which such overhead design is employed is the Electronic Toll Collection system. The ETC toll gate allows vehicles to pass through without having to stop to pay tolls. It is still in the early stages of implementation, with the government providing subsidies to encourage users to install the ETC system in their cars.

At the rest stop in Fujikawa, an open panel outside the restrooms are plastered with ETC posters. This location for ETC posters to be placed while practical in terms of the large viewership, becomes symbolic when their position outside a toilet is realised. It could be that Japanese restrooms are generally clean, and therefore the unclean associations with restrooms are becoming a lesser concern.

The ETC mascot is a creative balance of a car atop an ETC installed vehicle, reflecting the supportive role of the ETC. Such animated mascots are unique to the Japanese. It helps to promote a social initiative in a friendly manner.

To better understand the transportation system, the characteristics of the Japanese people also need to be understood. Transportation system comprises actors like government, firms, and people whose interactions are governed by technology and social norms. The following explores the features of Japanese society, which share a relationship with the operation of the transport system.

Train Lights, Torokko Romantic Train, Arashiyama, Kyoto.

With most of the shops closed early by eight pm, one of the few shops opened for retail was the bookstore. Bookstores are rather common in Japan. This bookstore in Kyoto resembled a library, not only in neatness, but in the pin drop silence that enveloped the entire store. The crisp turning sound of a page, and the beeps from cashier counters were the only auditory engagements in store. The sacredness Japanese readers accorded to the bookstore got my high respect. Socially considerate behaviour, like this, should be transported into Singapore.

Relating this to transport, it is perhaps the understanding of social consideration that Japanese seldom use handphones on trains.

The Gion area , home to geishas and maikos in Kyoto, is decorated with lanterns, giving the surroundings a quaint mood. The design of the lantern is most exquisite. The patterns will only be visible upon with the hidden light within on, and with darkness embracing the lantern. There is a level of unspoken secrecy, which the design determinedly distracts. It hints at the idea of packaging, which Japanese highly regard.

Art is respected in Japanese society. Manholes are packaged to be pleasant sights on the surface. Unique city symbols are engraved upon them. The focus on packaging can be interpreted as Japanese desire for hygiene and clean space.

At the same time, it shows a premium placed on appearance. To what extent is polite behaviour, social consideration and environmental concerns fueled by genuine care rather than deceptive interests?

Fireman access, Nagoya Manhole with Nijo Castle engraving, Osaka

Street Graffiti, Yokohama Bay

While lauded for cleanliness, street expressions of art have successfully intruded into public space. What is different here is the choice of paper graffiti, rather than paint, conveying concern for the easy removal of this art.

Beautification Enforcement notice, Gion Area, Kyoto Beautification Enforcement notice, Kiyomizudera, Kyoto

Like Singapore, littering is ‘strictly prohibited’, although these signs are mostly motivated to preserve the sanctity of cultural heritage. The fine of Y30,000, about SGD$450, is comparable to littering charges in Singapore. The assertion of ‘enforcement’ regardless of ‘nationality or status’, identifies a common social responsibility among Japanese, helping to establish a common goal and hence identity. The placement of ‘nationality’ before ‘status’ is interesting, and possibly a distinction between Japanese and ‘gaijins’ , aliens as foreigners are called.

This sense of national ism appears to be prevalent in Japan. I found that Japanese tend to be nicer when they find you speak a little Japanese. Some people allude this national pride to the willingness to use public transport.

The Imperial Palace in Tokyo is surrounded by a moat, that in the past, was meant to deny entry to uninvited guests. Today, the Palace freely admits visitors. Despite this, most Japanese have never been to the Palace, both our Japanese student friends and guides say. This free admission should be compared to the places of interests in Kyoto, such as the Kinkakuji and Kiyomizudera. The free admission is likely to encourage visitations, especially so in light of the diminishing stature of Japanese royalty.

Noteworthy here, is the tablet ticket required to be returned upon exit. This measure is in place, probably, to ensure no unorthodox exits and therefore entrances by the public. It is a modern day adaptation of the traditional moat.

The Kinkakuji was built as a retirement villa for the Shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. It now serves as a cultural reserve of Kyoto. Through the Kinkakuji, it can be observed that cultural capital is developed through history, and private wealth. Mostpeople assert that Singapore is culturally weak. If we follow the way which culture has been developed in Kyoto, it is difficult for Singapore to acquire cultural wealth, at least in physical infrastructure. Private entrepreneurs in Singapore are few. Government agencies are omnipresent, but have no role in developing physical infrastructure. The way for cultural development in Singapore can only be generated from ideas and practices, and not infrastruture.

Kinkakuji, Kyoto. Buddhist Charms as entry tickets to Kinkakuji

Kyoto University

Architecture in Kyoto University is clearly designed for aesthetic and functionality, and fused with a sense of physical space. The sense of space is mentally liberating, and also beckons to be filled with knowledge and thought. This clarity of space, and aesthetic architecture is comparatively lacking in the National University of Singapore.

Aesthetic and space, are crucial in nurturing quality thinking. It cushions rigorous mental activity. There needs to be investment in aesthetics in NUS.

Bicycles parked in Kyoto UniversityDedicated point-to-point transport in Kyoto University

Bicycle parking space, Kyoto University

Kyoto University MuseumKyoto University Sights

Dotombori River, Minami, Osaka City

Japanese cities are lit with neon lights. Lights enliven cities. It is an antibody to solitary insignificance and aloneness, which darker rural cities inadvertently convey.

Shinsaibashi-suji Shopping street, Minami, Osaka City

There is a practice of reflecting the time on public works. Buildings tell time, and so do clock towers. This practice perhaps reflects the Japanese respect for punctuality. It perhaps explains the strict adherence to arrival times on public transport.

The similarities between these stores, are not only that they sell seafood, but the preference for textured, three-dimensional advertisements. Together with the bright, visual lights, they all seem to suggest that Japanese city-dwellers vibrantly engage an array of their senses in advertisement. The visual and tactile senses are engaged here. Auditory senses are engaged, in the different jingles heard when trains arrive at stations. The usage of multiple senses in creative ways areperhaps the recipe to successful observations and innovations.

Takoyaki Octopus Balls Kani Crab Shop Pufferfish Shop

At Ameyoko Street in Ueno, Tokyo, a fishmonger sells fish roe and unagi in the open. Just wondering how they are kept fresh..

Advertisement for Sapporo Beer along Shinsaibashi Street in Minami, Osaka.

So then, what is the meaning of transport? I wish to draw a parallel between guidance in transportation to parenting. The quality of guidance in transport is exemplified through the number of parenting fathers, and grandfathers, throughout Japan. It possiblypoints at changing gender roles in society. But relating it to transport, it shows how trust is placed in the care provider to deliver one safely to another destination. The secession of control is made through an investment of trust in the transportation system.The extent of trust, is the lens which changes the notion of being captive of the transportation system. The willingness to entrust oneself to the transportation system is perhaps then, cultural.

Personally, the going to Japan was more a physical and less a psychological transportation of the self. While I was physically in Japan, mentally, I was aware that I was away from home. The concept of home was alive in my mind. The difference between passenger and freight transportation, is the duality in passenger transportation.

The meaning of transportation lies in the objective of transportation. At a physical level, it is about movement. On a psychological level, it is about advancement in thought and infusion of new perspective.

While one can be physically present on the travellator, standing towards the left in abidance of the demarcations, the mind is free to roam. For me, transport, and travel, is meant to change perspectives and typical thought.

In the words of Marcel Proust, ‘the real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.’