For an average tourist, Japanese pictograms sometimes take a bit of effort to understand. 'H' for hotel could easily be confused with hospital (although a short walk through Kabukicho will easily dispel any images of it being a medical paradise). Other highlights include the reverse swastika 卍 (manji) for temples (often a shock for Jewish visitors) and a cross for police stations and koban (why that was there in the first place is anyone’s guess). To accommodate foreigners (Westerners in particular), the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) has taken to redesigning the pictograms before the expected influx of visitors by, you guessed it, 2020.
Some of the pictograms, such as the Information desk sign, are staying the same, but others are having a massive overhaul. Hotels will now be a person sleeping in a bed, a temple will look like a pagoda, and police stations will actually look like there are human beings in them. Post offices will also go from the typical Japanese sign 〒 to a simple envelope. There have been some additions as well, with even the ubiquitous convenience stores being marked by a sandwich and a bottle. How international. But we do have to agree that it will make reading a map (without a legend) a lot easier in the coming years…
Any particular signs you'd like to see changed?
– By Kirsty Bouwers
– Image compiled from information provided in the PDF of official results