East Asia

Script: Hangul

Name: Korean (Hangugeo (한국어), Hangukmal (한국말))

Style: Use of circles in many letters, which sets it apart from most other East Asian scripts

Examples:

• 아
• ㅇㅋ
• ㅜㅜ / ㅠㅠ
• 앙, 잉, 웅, 엥, 옹
• 아, 이, 우, 에, 오

Concrete utility poles are wrapped in

• bright black-and-orange (usually more orange than yellow) diagonal bands

that extend all the way to the ground

• In South Korea, where the stripes stop much higher and yellow
• Metallic (sic!) poles (usually lamp) in Taiwan have the same colour pattern but don't extend all the way to the ground

Public signs in Japan use a mix of

• kanji (Chinese characters) and
• the two syllabaries, hiragana and katakana.

The differences are:

• Hiragana has softer, rounded strokes
• Katakana has sharp, angular shapes

Katakana used for:

• primarily for foreign loanwords (like camera → カメラ),
• foreign names, scientific terms (plants/animals), onomatopoeia (sound words), and for emphasis (like italics),
• appearing on menus, ads, in manga, and for stylistic reasons, often mixed with Hiragana and Kanji.

Utility poles in South Korea almost always have

• black-and-yellow diagonal stripes near the bottom
• the stripes don’t extend all the way to the ground
• pointed texture (avoid sticking illegal ads)

Usually

• two red Hangul characters in the center or at the base as identification markers

But in Taiwan, the stripes extend all the way to the ground.

Also, Korea’s stripes are a brighter yellow, whereas Taiwan’s have more of an orange color.

A yellow-and-black diagonal reflective sleeve wrapped around a utility pole, attached with metal or plastic bands/wires.

It is installed partway up the pole, does not reach the ground, and may be partially open or fully cylindrical.

Type: Private

Shape: Short

Background: Green or white

Text: White or green

Often black-yellow diagonal stripes from bottom to almost top

Attached circle reflector. Yellow on the front side, and red on the back.

VS Japan:

• Taiwan one is taller
• Japan uses white for the back side reflector vs red Taiwan

In Taiwan, metallic poles are wrapped in

• bright black-and-orange (usually more orange than yellow) diagonal bands

that don't extend all the way to the ground

• In South Korea, where the stripes stop much higher and yellow

Most poles are topped with

• a slim tapered metal cap made of galvanized steel or aluminum and narrows toward the tip acts as a basic lightning rod

In urban areas, dark green or grey box-shaped transformers are often mounted on short plinths. Even plinths without transformers can be a useful feature to notice.

A yellow-and-black vertical reflective sleeve wrapped around a utility pole, attached with metal or plastic bands/wires.

It is installed partway up the pole, does not reach the ground, and may be partially open or fully cylindrical.

Cylinder metal with one or two orange round reflectors on top on the front side and white on the back side. Reflectors placed inside grey metallic frame

May include extra attachments (snow poles on the top)

Continuous red edge lines mark no-parking zones and are a feature almost unique to Taiwan’s city streets.

Sometimes the no-parking zones are marked with red-painted curbs instead

White metal guardrails - usually Type-A

Material: Plastic card

Shape: Rectangle

Color: Background - Blue, green, white-orange. Text - white

Text: The line with 1 letter and 4 numbers (F0453) represent coordinates to this particular location. Letter mark a grid block. Numbers give a location within that grid block (east–west and south–north percentages). The second line (if present) can provide greater precision (like within ~10 m) or additional grid refinement.

Attached circle. Yellow on the front side, red on the back side

Japan small reflectors placed on the white post vs yellow/no color in Taiwan

On rural and mountain roads, you’ll often see concrete retaining walls with interlocking block patterns

Japan’s stop sign is a red upside-down triangle with the kanji ‘止まれ’ (tomare)

A blue pentagon showing two children crossing is used to mark school zones and pedestrian crossings

Bollards are wedge-shaped, coloured white, with a circle yellow reflector on the front and grey circle on the back

A grey-and-white

• diagonal or
• vertical

reflective sleeve wrapped around a utility pole, attached with metal or plastic bands/wires.

It is installed partway up the pole, does not reach the ground, and may be partially open or fully cylindrical.

A green-and-white diagonal reflective sleeve wrapped around a utility pole, attached with metal or plastic bands/wires.

It is installed partway up the pole, does not reach the ground, and may be partially open or fully cylindrical.

Quality: Low resolution. Mainly used between 2008–2011.

Colors: Muted, slightly washed out.

Blur: A strictly circular (round) blur visible beneath the car when looking down. This is the most reliable identifier.

Quick ID: Low quality + perfectly circular blur under the car = Generation 2.

Driving direction: Right side

Driving direction: Left Side

Type: Commercial, Kei cars (small cars)

Shape: Short

Background: Yellow

Text: Black

Roadside utility poles are round concrete columns with spiral grooves.

They often have:

• metal ID white plates
• guy wires
• small reflectors

Convex mirrors at junctions and bends always have a bright orange frame, often with writing on them

In Taiwan, the writing on signs is in Traditional Chinese, a script known for its highly detailed characters made up of many strokes.

Japanese, while it also includes Chinese characters (kanji), looks different because it mixes in two additional writing systems: hiragana and katakana. These have simpler shapes and make Japanese text easier to tell apart from pure Traditional Chinese

Type: Commercial

Shape: Long or short

Background: Yellow

Text: Black

Highway roads have different markings than city roads.

The outer lines are usually yellow on one side and white on the other, while the center lines are typically white

Many roads have open concrete channels running alongside them to drain rainwater. Similar channels can also be seen in Japan

Bright orange-rimmed convex mirrors are placed at junctions and blind bends

On most city and suburban roads, the center is marked with double solid yellow lines and the edges with single white lines.

On narrower lanes, the double yellow is sometimes replaced with a dashed yellow

Background: Yellow

Arrows: Bold black

In Japan, Street View images are taken by a black or white Google car.

Sometimes you’ll see it in black, and occasionally it may even have an antenna.