My recent ethnographic study on beverage consumption was very inspiring. Observing how people consume something so fundamental as beverages, give great insights to their goals and values in life.
Take coffee for example. When you order coffee, what do you seek? Simply a dose of caffeine to wake yourself up? Taste? Or simply an unconscious routine that keeps you on track during work days?
Looking at Japanese consumers, I saw two completely different motivations.
On one end, coffee is a drink of pleasure. Pleasure for taste, quality time in a good atmosphere, and perhaps for a good conversation with your friends. Take a look at the cappuccino I was served: Barista, the coffee bartender, made the drawing just for me after seeing my daughter. This would absolutely have no influence on taste, but makes the cafe and the service so memorable. It simply enhances my experience over coffee.
On the other, coffee is consumed like a gas for a car, a mere substance that keeps you going while at work. Consumed in a form of tin cans, they are everywhere. From the moment they left home for work, their first coffee moment arrives: By the time they arrive to the nearest station or while driving the car, they have already had one can. These men would continue to drink canned coffee to enhance their short breaks and to keep themselves going for long work hours. You will easily see some heavy consumers would drink up to 5 or 6 cans a day.
Coffee addicts? Not really, because many walked completely away from coffee during weekends. For them, coffee IS work.
So, are you a coffee drinker? What is that you seek in coffee? When do you drink and how many? These questions may be simple but could reveal so much more than you would think.
Take coffee for example. When you order coffee, what do you seek? Simply a dose of caffeine to wake yourself up? Taste? Or simply an unconscious routine that keeps you on track during work days?
Looking at Japanese consumers, I saw two completely different motivations.
On one end, coffee is a drink of pleasure. Pleasure for taste, quality time in a good atmosphere, and perhaps for a good conversation with your friends. Take a look at the cappuccino I was served: Barista, the coffee bartender, made the drawing just for me after seeing my daughter. This would absolutely have no influence on taste, but makes the cafe and the service so memorable. It simply enhances my experience over coffee.
On the other, coffee is consumed like a gas for a car, a mere substance that keeps you going while at work. Consumed in a form of tin cans, they are everywhere. From the moment they left home for work, their first coffee moment arrives: By the time they arrive to the nearest station or while driving the car, they have already had one can. These men would continue to drink canned coffee to enhance their short breaks and to keep themselves going for long work hours. You will easily see some heavy consumers would drink up to 5 or 6 cans a day.
Coffee addicts? Not really, because many walked completely away from coffee during weekends. For them, coffee IS work.
So, are you a coffee drinker? What is that you seek in coffee? When do you drink and how many? These questions may be simple but could reveal so much more than you would think.
Found a very small flaw in otherwise a simple and beautiful modern museum of art in Yokosuka. There is only a glass wall and a door that separates the exhibition area and outside, obviously some people tried to get out from the door by unlocking the door which is only meant to be done so for emergency cases only.
As you can see, semi-translucent duck tapes did not quite prevent my daughter from trying to open the door.
As you can see, semi-translucent duck tapes did not quite prevent my daughter from trying to open the door.
It was the day before the final presentation. We were all tired and busy. Some of us were going up and down a fairly steep stairs made out of bare concrete. All of a sudden, we heard our project member growl. He was running up the stairs with his laptop in his hand. It turns out, that he hit his knee cap against the stairs, as he tripped and used his two hands to protect his laptop which was left opened.
He could no longer move and an ambulance was brought in. What we saw was an ambulance packed with people: there were altogether eight staffs. They went up the stairs, which is so narrow that only one people can walk up at the same time. They took care of our mate's wound, put him on a carrier, and brought him down to the ground floor, four stories below.
After hearing so much through media about the serious shortage of ambulances and some critical patients faced serious consequences because of it, the entire scene seemed so bizarre. After all, many of Japanese homes and facilities are very small. There are not many places where eight paramedics can be in one room and work efficiently.
It turns out that our mate had broke his knee cap in two locations. It was a serious injury and good that he was not a victim of what has been heavily alerted in the media. The only thing I hope is that it was by chance that there were so many. Too many chefs, or paramedics in this case, can spoil things, too.
He could no longer move and an ambulance was brought in. What we saw was an ambulance packed with people: there were altogether eight staffs. They went up the stairs, which is so narrow that only one people can walk up at the same time. They took care of our mate's wound, put him on a carrier, and brought him down to the ground floor, four stories below.
After hearing so much through media about the serious shortage of ambulances and some critical patients faced serious consequences because of it, the entire scene seemed so bizarre. After all, many of Japanese homes and facilities are very small. There are not many places where eight paramedics can be in one room and work efficiently.
It turns out that our mate had broke his knee cap in two locations. It was a serious injury and good that he was not a victim of what has been heavily alerted in the media. The only thing I hope is that it was by chance that there were so many. Too many chefs, or paramedics in this case, can spoil things, too.
I suppose my brain was still not processing, I intend to take my face wash into my hands but instead end up pouring some toothpaste on my hand.
I noticed something is wrong after the bright green and white substance landed on my palm. Thank god there was some crystal bits in the paste, without them I would have had some fresh mint on my face.
Or perhaps, for such a day I should have had some on my face.
I noticed something is wrong after the bright green and white substance landed on my palm. Thank god there was some crystal bits in the paste, without them I would have had some fresh mint on my face.
Or perhaps, for such a day I should have had some on my face.
Route finder is definitely one of the most used online services here in Japan. Particularly in metropolitan areas where mesh of trains, metros, and buses intertwine, it is essential to know now only where to change trains but also consider issues like how long you need to walk between trains and which exit or cargo to take for an optimized path. Depending on the route there could be 5-10 minutes difference to your destination.
But what is it all for if you cannot access the information? Metros do not have network coverage while running, preventing me to access such service when I desperately need the information. It seems crucial for a service like this because the time you spend on transportation offers the perfect time to familiarize yourself for the upcoming route.
My solution to this is to have an information offline. Instead of using brainy applications which I could only access while I am on the move - besides, typing letters using touch screens while I am walking gives me a great challenge - I decided to give an old school a try.
Tokyo Route Finder is an iPhone application that does just this. The app simply provides the information on how trains are connected and where they stop.
Come to think of it, we used to carry these as a small piece of paper which can be kept inside our wallet or a daily planner. I wonder, how many people still carry them around?
But what is it all for if you cannot access the information? Metros do not have network coverage while running, preventing me to access such service when I desperately need the information. It seems crucial for a service like this because the time you spend on transportation offers the perfect time to familiarize yourself for the upcoming route.
My solution to this is to have an information offline. Instead of using brainy applications which I could only access while I am on the move - besides, typing letters using touch screens while I am walking gives me a great challenge - I decided to give an old school a try.
Tokyo Route Finder is an iPhone application that does just this. The app simply provides the information on how trains are connected and where they stop.
Come to think of it, we used to carry these as a small piece of paper which can be kept inside our wallet or a daily planner. I wonder, how many people still carry them around?
Creating a deck of cards on my own which describes different user research techniques. Thinking this could be a practical brainstorm or a workshop kit for me to communicate with my existing and potential clients.
Too expensive creating cards? I know, particularly if you would like to have double-sided printings, with both sides having different design for each card. If available, try buying papers for inkjet printers for creating business cards on your own.
My passport has come to the end of its lifetime. I spent most of its validity period abroad where none of my identity documents work, this passport has literally been the only official proof of myself. It feels insecure that neither this passport or its ID code will be valid.
In many countries, you are most likely to have at least one or two identification that work throughout your lifetime. In case of Japan, there is none. Even for a matter of individuals, we still prove ourselves with the family registry, which contains the record of an entire family. The registry also does not contain any identification number, and many of the records still only exist in forms of paper. For instance, my family registry, until I was married, was even handwritten.
In occasions when you are required to prove your identity, many use driver's license. And if you do not own one, social security cards or pension booklets are used. The problem is, driver's license numbers, social security card IDs or pension numbers, they have no link between each other. In addition, apart from driver's license, there is no portrait photo attached. Lacking any good ideas, many facilities, including the official one, would request you to combine those documents with some proof of residence such as electricity bills or phone bills. Bills would contain the name of the payer and the home address, but without any photo of a person, it only serves as a procedure rather than the actual ID.
Will this ever change? The only chance to change the general opinion, is the fact the government confided that they lost track of 50 million pension records. Now I hope 50 million is a big enough number to make general public notice that lacking such identification number has some consequences.
In many countries, you are most likely to have at least one or two identification that work throughout your lifetime. In case of Japan, there is none. Even for a matter of individuals, we still prove ourselves with the family registry, which contains the record of an entire family. The registry also does not contain any identification number, and many of the records still only exist in forms of paper. For instance, my family registry, until I was married, was even handwritten.
In occasions when you are required to prove your identity, many use driver's license. And if you do not own one, social security cards or pension booklets are used. The problem is, driver's license numbers, social security card IDs or pension numbers, they have no link between each other. In addition, apart from driver's license, there is no portrait photo attached. Lacking any good ideas, many facilities, including the official one, would request you to combine those documents with some proof of residence such as electricity bills or phone bills. Bills would contain the name of the payer and the home address, but without any photo of a person, it only serves as a procedure rather than the actual ID.
Will this ever change? The only chance to change the general opinion, is the fact the government confided that they lost track of 50 million pension records. Now I hope 50 million is a big enough number to make general public notice that lacking such identification number has some consequences.
High-end toilet paper rolls bought in Carrefour, Beijing, China. You can see that within the plastic wrapping that creates a package, there is another wrapping protecting individual rolls.
It is easy to say that this is simply an excessive wrapping. However, anyone who lived in Beijing would know, that with so much dust and, in some seasons, sands in the air, you need such a wrapping simply to protect toilet papers getting dusty.
But how about this one? A single toothbrush sent in such a large carbon box? This is from a major shopping site, I am surprised that there has not been any public dispute about the excessive wrapping.
It is easy to say that this is simply an excessive wrapping. However, anyone who lived in Beijing would know, that with so much dust and, in some seasons, sands in the air, you need such a wrapping simply to protect toilet papers getting dusty.
But how about this one? A single toothbrush sent in such a large carbon box? This is from a major shopping site, I am surprised that there has not been any public dispute about the excessive wrapping.
For every yellow line indicating where the train doors would be located, there is one person, one mobile phone interacted, one large bag, and most likely a music player.
In Yoyogi, Tokyo.
In Yoyogi, Tokyo.
In Yamanote line at 10 in the morning. He is obviously drunk and deeply asleep. Lying down on a public transportation from such an early time of the day certainly drove other passengers away from him.
Meanwhile, I could see he have his sensibility to take his shoes off. He may have been unconscious doing so, but shoes are placed nicely together. I maybe naive but simply looking at how shoes are placed, I cannot imagine him being a reckless alcoholic.
After all, the train was not that crowded. I got off the train shortly after, hoping that he will have some sleep.
Meanwhile, I could see he have his sensibility to take his shoes off. He may have been unconscious doing so, but shoes are placed nicely together. I maybe naive but simply looking at how shoes are placed, I cannot imagine him being a reckless alcoholic.
After all, the train was not that crowded. I got off the train shortly after, hoping that he will have some sleep.
