Ride up and down the elevators of Japanese office blocks and you may well come across some very suggestive signs. Not signs of anything going on, or signs which might suggest you have entered the twilight zone. But signs telling you just what it is you can’t do.
GaijinPot has tweeted about the Tokyo Metro manner signs (to be found online here – my personal favorite being the young office worker diving into the train only to be trapped by the closing doors) but during a recent trip out to meet with some friends from another company across town we came across a new kind of manner sign. At the top of every elevator in the building – there were a lot – were a series of signs giving the rider some subtle hints about just what was expected of you for the duration of your trip.
From top to bottom:
- Beauty is silent (maybe this could be translated as silence is golden?)
- Volume down is good etiquette (good mobiles phones are seen and not heard?)
- Manner mode is peaceful (good manners cost nothing??)
Keeping on track with your manners?
Comments
Good old weird Japanese ^^
I particularly enjoy the nuances in the first sign. This is the kind of bizarre hybrid language pun that the Japanese can do so well. If you read the sign phonetically it says “bi sirento” or “be silent” yet it uses the Kanji for beautiful as the “be” so it referring to the beauty of silence. I love that stuff.
I particularly enjoy the nuances in the first sign. This is the kind of bizarre hybrid language pun that the Japanese can do so well. If you read the sign phonetically it says “bi sirento” or “be silent” yet it uses the Kanji for beautiful as the “be” so it referring to the beauty of silence. I love that stuff.