Posted April 17, 2020 by Jonelle Patrick6 Comments Cute to the nth

How To Measure Social Distance, J-Style

Those of us who’ve been under quarantine for a month have stood in enough lines by now that we’ve probably got a pretty good eye for the “six foot” (two meter) guideline, but in crowded Japan, not so much. So they’ve plastered the subways with posters giving hilariously helpful hints for judging how close not to stand to fellow commuters.

Graphic showing two meters of social distance is equal to one tatami mat — •

Graphic showing two meters of social distance is equal to one bicycle — And my favorite:

Graphic showing two meters of social distance is equal to one giant tuna

Here’s what the posters look like:

They include an excellent graphic at the bottom to convince people that social distancing can help stop the pandemic spread. Plenty of people are still making exceptions for themselves in the absence of binding orders from the government, and the lack of office closures means many still have to pile onto trains every day to go to work (can you spell AIEEEE?)

These were designed by Eisuke Tachikawa and his team at Nosigner. Thanks to SoraNews24 for collecting these excellent graphics

If you’d like to see some silly graphics with distance measures that are a bit more local, head over to J-style Social Distancing Measurements for the Rest of Us…

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Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Japan, produces the monthly newsletter Japanagram, and blogs at Only In Japan and The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had

Jonelle Patrick View All

Writing mystery books set in Tokyo is mostly what I do, but I also blog about the odd stuff I see every day in Japan. I'm a graduate of Stanford University and the Sendagaya Japanese Institute in Tokyo, and a member of the International Thriller Writers, the Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters In Crime. When I'm not in Tokyo, I live in San Francisco. I also host a travel site called The Tokyo Guide I Wish I'd Had, so if you're headed to Japan and want to check out the places I take my friends when they're in town, take a look!

6 thoughts on “How To Measure Social Distance, J-Style” ›

The tuna 🤣🤣🤣

Jonelle Patrick says:

April 17, 2020 at 1:55 pm

My favorite too! I wish I could think of some hilarious Western-style examples.

Reply

How many baguettes 🥖 ?

Jonelle Patrick says:

April 17, 2020 at 2:30 pm

Righteous French ones, or chonky American ones? lol

Reply
- Mchan says:
  
  April 17, 2020 at 3:07 pm
  
  I am going to be really patriotic and say the French ones 🇫🇷 😁