Photo credit – Riccardo Annandale via unsplash.com

When you are in new situations, you see ideas that are new to you. Sometimes they can be really simple, yet effective. Here are a couple from Japanese supermarkets.

Child seat in public conveniences
when mothers are out shopping and need to use the bathroom, it can be difficult to manage an infant at the same time. I have never really thought about this, but saw a great idea in the toilets at the supermarkets here in Hokkaido.

There are child seats located in the corner of the cubicle. Parents are able to place the child in the seat, keeping them safe and in view while using the toilet. What a great idea!

Shopping trolleys with magnifiers
 There are some shopping trolleys that have magnifiers installed on the cart. A simple hinged magnifier is flipped into position so that you can examine the fine print on grocery item labels.

This means you don;t need to grapple with reading glasses while managing everything else in a shopping trip. It is not something that I use much here – as everything is in Japanese – but I could see it being very useful for native speakers, in any country. Another great idea!

Shopping trolleys attached to wheel chairs
The supermarket provides trolleys that attach to wheel chair. This is a real advantage to those who are not so able on their feet. It provides them with the opportunity to shop and easily move their shopping goods around with them. Sadly no photo available as the trolleys were in use. Nice idea, to make the senior or disabled shopper feel catered for.

Have you seen good ideas like these? Would you share them here?