Keikyu Corporation has installed special signs at Haneda Airport to help visitors navigate the crowded Keikyu Haneda Airport International Terminal train station.
The signs, which were implemented on 28 January in time for Chinese New Year, are optical illusion signs attached directly to the floor that use a sensory trick that is effective regardless of nationality or age. The picture is 3D so it is easy for visitors to follow the directions.
Ultimately, the signs aim to encourage the increasing number of foreign tourists using the elevators. It is hoped that by increased use of the elevators, there will be less accidents with baggage and falls on the escalators.
The 3D signs direct passengers to the platforms with arrows that appear to be carved out of the floor, offering route guidance through the terminal without the need for dangerous obstacles that the visually impaired or strollers could potentially collide with.
Haneda International airport is the fastest gateway to Tokyo’s metropolitan area, just 12 minutes on the Keihin Kyuko Railway (Keikyu) to Shinagawa – a stop on the Tokaido/Sanyo Shinkansen – making it only a 21-minute journey to Yokohama’s Chinatown, the biggest Chinatown in East Asia.
If the optical illusion signs prove effective on the Keikyu, they will be considered for rollout in more areas.
