Hasta La Gadget!

Out and about in Nippori/Yanaka recently I spotted these transparent QR codes over the top of the usual Tokyo area maps.

The whole sign was covered with a special film and certain key parts of the district were highlighted in squares with a transparent code, scanning which would send you to a site with a detailed route map highlighting how to get there. There were also other QR codes embedded in signs on the pavement near local attractions.

It is part of a Taitoku scheme to promote Yanaka to sightseers, including foreign tourists. The project was just a month-long experiment and appears to be over for now, though of course it is laudable that the local authorities are trying to make it easier for visitors venturing out of Asakusa, Ginza et al into the labyrinthine warren that is the old streets of Yanaka. However, the codes only worked with NTT DoCoMo phones and surely foreign tourists would not be likely to have that kind of handset.

A case of their heart being in the right place? Possibly. Certainly, the attitude is there but the results may not be much. The other main target for the scheme is apparently the elderly, who, though it would be patronizing and naive to exclude from projects involving technological tools, nonetheless arguably may not be the most appropriate group for utilizing the codes. In 2011 the organizers hope to expand the trial, so watch this space for more.