Japan keyboards

First keyboard I interacted with in Japan was already kind of amazing. Mechanical numeric keypad in an ATM!

Stumbled upon an Apple Store. Most (but not all) keyboards in the fascinating Japanese layout with the tiny Tab and Caps Lock in the lower left corner. Also spotted my first iMac Pro keyboard!

To people pointing out the oversized [1] key: I think it makes some sense aesthetically, and it’s easier to press (c.f. Fitts’s Law). As the last digit to make it onto the keyboard, [1] deserves some remuneration!

A few other keyboards that did (or didn’t do) something similar:

The remote numeric keypad in my hotel goes to eleven, and then even more. (Why am I doing this… I hate “goes to eleven” jokes.)

VOD in the upper left corner is a sticker.

An example of what other keyboards do with that [1] key.

I literally gasped out loud when I saw this in a store.

I think you buy a key of your choice, then order whatever custom stamp you want online.

Cute electronic dictionary (I think?) keyboards. Would get one, but they are surprisingly pricey!

Keyboard-related purchases count: 1

Foot blisters count: 1

Cute stickers talking about what’s underneath keys in a computer store.

Keyboard mystery: I’ve seen a bunch of older Mac keyboards today (including the legendary black MacBook) where Control key is adorned with an extra pen icon. What is that all about? I have never seen this before.

(Also, in that second photo, note the huegest one key, with a right-aligned legend!)

Mystery solved! The pen was to draw attention to the menu allowing you to switch between many modes of entering Japanese. It otherwise behaved as ^ or Ctrl.

The shortcuts still work today, but the special icon and key are gone. I am not sure why the intro’ed it or removed it.

Japanese Enter is already rather big but, if there’s room, it can be made gargantuan.

(Last photo is the more typical size.)

This is in contrast to the spacebar, used sparingly and usually sacrificed to make room for keys used to switch between many necessary input methods or to aid in typing complex Japanese characters by describing them via QWERTY.

Although of course I also stumbled upon the Steelseries gaming keyboard with its massive spacebar.

(Early on, some 19th-century typewriters called spacebar a “space plate.” This one deserves that name.)

Keyboard-related purchases count: 2

I bought a bad Japanese keyboard part for less than a dollar!

Q: …thanks, boss, we’ll make it happen somehow.

*leaves the room, 1 enters with a worried look on its face*

1: I heard some rumours about downsizing.
Boss: Don’t worry, you still have a job. Speaking of which, have you seen Tab around?

Keyboard-related purchases count: 3

I liked this one because it says “Logicool,” and it has Japanese layout, and I never had a wireless keyboard before.

Saw this in the store today. Little calendar keys! From Filco!

12 function keys = 12 months = 12 Zodiac signs: coincidence or CONSPIRACY?

Through kindness of strangers (viz. @TokyoSpark) I got to play with the original thumb shift keyboard today at Fujitsu headquarters, including its original touch typing helper chart!

Thumb-shift keyboard

Keyboard-related purchases count: 4

I went back to the store to convince them to sell me the white Mac keyboard with the enormous 1 and the pen icon. (Without speaking Japanese.) They didn’t want to.

But then I managed to ask them if there is another place that could have those, and they pointed me to a little store on the 4th floor of a small building… and it was a gold mine of used Apple keyboards.

So here it is, my holy grail Japanese A1048 in my own bag.

(I felt so happy I ran back to the original store just to say “thank you” to the guy that sent me to the right place.)

Japanese trains specifically call out loud typing! Damn nerds be bringing Model Ms onboard.

An interesting Sharp “email internet computer.” Seems vaguely resembling of an iMac, but it has some cool dedicated keys Apple would never put on their keyboards as Apple keyboards can’t ever not be boring.

Ctrl vs. Caps Lock battles know no boundaries.

I typed on the Lenovo Yoga Book. It really was rather gross.

A camo Filco keyboard with a stenciled font and a matching numeric keypad for all that spreadsheeting that needs to happen on the front lines…?

I found some other keyboards clad in interesting liveries.

But I am not going to lie: it was kind of awesome to see shelves and shelves filled with keyboards.

(A lot of it was dedicated to gaming, but not all of it.)

Some gaming keyboards had little trailers next to them! GAME WITH PASSION. WIN WITH SCIENCE. PWN YOUR VI. CRUNCH NUMBERS ON THE BATTLEFIELD. EXTREME EDGEEEEEEE

Keyboard-related purchases count: 4

I got this fascinating one-handed cheap gaming keyboard. I’m a bit intimidated to get it out of the box.

…and puzzled about the keys that stray away from QWERTY. Are those typical for one game, or common across many games?

It’s also interesting as a distant cousin of Doug Engelbart’s idea of “left hand on the keyset, right hand on the mouse” notion from 1960s.

I also saw gaming mice which had mini keyboards on their surfaces.

I have to say that the combination of highlighted WASD and the Japanese kana characters has a certain pro look to it.

Interesting: Stickers to put on your keyboard keys to make them more grippy. Is this a gamer’s equivalent of racing driver’s or cyclist’s gloves? Useful or a placebo equivalent of the expensive HDMI cables?

This was an interesting iPad keyboard. Usually, keyboards treat every inch of space as precious. This one has non-functional bumpers on the sides; I guess so it doesn’t scratch the screen…?

Keyboard-related purchases count: 5

A cheap keyboard with a platform for don’t-call-them-Lego Lego bricks?

(They even cheat on the box already, by extending the platform with extra flat Legos.)