Follow me, I'm blind

Dragging my luggage around while trying to navigate Japan’s public transit system was no small feat – especially when I kept encountering the rigid tiles running right down the middle of the sidewalk. They were everywhere.

After losing control of my luggage for the umpteenth time, I exasperatedly said to my wife, “Whose idea was it to put these bumpy tiles right in the middle of the sidewalk?” She responded, “They’re for blind people.” Awkward!

That’s when I started taking a closer look and noticed a deliberate pattern. The tiles ran straight down the sidewalk, making turns at corners and inte...