为解决游客语言障碍 日本推出奇葩便民标志

近日，日本岩手县推出了一套奇葩的旅游标志，以简洁明了、图文并茂的形式告知外国游客菜品选项、支付方式以及当地习俗等信息。据岩手县盛冈市有关人士表示，推出这一系列标志是为了吸引不会说日语的外国游客。目前，商家可以从网上下载全套26副标志图。

Language barriers can be a real struggle when traveling. But never fear, Japan has a clever solution for its English-speaking visitors.

语言障碍是旅游中面临的一大困难。但是不用担心，日本已经为讲英语的游客想出了机智的解决方案。

Officials in the Iwate Prefecture have developed a lineup of tourism signs that display info about menu choices, payment options and locker room etiquette in simple, illustrated form.

日本岩手县发明了一系列旅游标志，以简洁明了、图文并茂的形式呈现了菜品选项、支付方式以及更衣室礼仪等信息。

The signs are already on display around the city of Morioka, a regional development director, Takefumi Shimomukai, told The Japan Times. They’re intended to make English-speaking tourists feel more welcome in the area, he added.

盛冈市发展负责人Takefumi Shimomukai对《日本时报》表示，该市地区正在使用这些标志。他们的目的是让讲英语的游客在这里感受到宾至如归的感觉。

Twenty-six images are available for businesses to download online. Many of the signs have to do with dining. But they also provide advice for using onsens, Japan’s popular hot spring baths.

商家可以在线下载这26副图片。其中许多标志和用餐有关。但也有一些是关于使用日式浴池的建议，温泉浴在日本非常流行。

Shimomukai says they wanted to do something simple but fun to attract people's interest. The area is less of a draw for foreigners than tourist hubs like Tokyo and Kyoto, and communication troubles have made some locals reluctant to reach out to visitors. "Until recently some owners believed their profits from serving only locals were sufficient, and due to the language barrier, they may have left foreign visitors with a feeling that they were not welcome," he says.

Shimomukai表示，他们想要做一些简单而有趣的事情来吸引人们的兴趣。与东京和京都等热门旅游城市相比，这里对外国人的吸引力较弱，而当地人因为一些沟通问题不愿意与游客接触。“现在还有些商家认为，他们只服务当地游客就能赚到足够的利润，而由于语言障碍问题，他们可能让外国游客感到备受冷落。”

Slightly more hi-tech approaches to dealing with communication problems have been rolled out elsewhere in Japan, as the number of foreign visitors grows. Last year, a new app was trialled that translates rail announcements into a visitor's own language, and some regions offer 24-hour multilingual hotlines for advice on everything from finding a doctor to sending luggage home.

随着外国游客数量的增长，日本其他地方也出现一些解决沟通问题的方法，这些方法更高科技一些。去年进行测试的一款新型应用软件可以将地铁公告