I love the subway. I know exactly where I am and exactly where I am going. A two year old bus map may be out of date because the routes and stops have changed. But a 50 year old subway map probably still works for the lines and stations on it, even if additional lines have been added.

But how do you use that map if it’s in a foreign language, and it’s your first day ever in that country? Too many people assume they could not possibly do it, so they take a taxi, cut off from the local people on the subway. Yet, you had the skills to do this when you were five years old, before you could read.

A five year old knows colors, counting, matching, and connect the dots. So do you. It’s all you need. Take a look at this Tokyo subway map:

https://bento.com/pix/subway/subway5.gif

My first trip to Asia was Japan in 1990. I had used subways in Europe and North America, but nothing like Tokyo. My hotel was closest to the Aoyama-Itchome subway stop. I don’t read Japanese at all. But I knew that it is one of the few stations with five characters in the name, and the middle character is a single straight line. It’s on three lines, orange, purple, and magenta. So even if the map is only in Japanese, it’s really easy to find. Pick a color, follow the line, and match the characters – skills of a five year old.

From Narita Airport, I took a direct train to Ueno station. That’s on the orange line, 12 stops from my hotel’s station. As long as I go the right direction, the only skill I need is counting – and I can be sure I am going the right direction by matching signs on the wall at the first stop with the name on the map. If I go into any Tokyo subway station, and find where that color line connects to orange, purple, or magenta, I can easily count the stops to a transfer for my hotel.

It works in any language in any country, and for trains too! You could do this at five years old. You still can.