Train station posters promoting safety and good manners are a stock item in Japan and are all about promoting safe transit. No drunk naked Halloween partying Aussies on the Yamanote line for me please. Boring, punctual, safe, fast transit is all I want.
Manner posters are usually humorous and light hearted. It’s easier to keep good manners when you can laugh at yourself. The latest JR East effort is along the lines of ‘don’t be a bird brain’ that plays on the different meanings of the Japanese word ‘toori’ which can mean bird, street, or on time. Japanese love word play and are well aware that, ‘Manner de Keep’ is not grammatically correct anything, it’s just fun and catchy.
Don’t be a bird brain, put that smartphone in your pocket
And the message is a good one: don’t be a bird brain and walk around while looking at your smartphone. It’s dangerous. Put it away and pay full attention to your surroundings. That will help everybody be on time.
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