An old bus stop sign stands in front of a cafe in Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, where people with dementia and their families interact.
The bus stop has a timetable and a waiting room, but buses will never stop there.
Based on an initiative originating in Germany, such therapeutic bus stops in Japan aim?to help prevent those with dementia, who often experience the urge to “go home,” from wandering and getting lost.
Tomoka Sugino, the 56-year-old head of the nonprofit organization Pokapoka no Mori and who runs the Anki Cafe, said she thought it was a great idea to create mock bus stops for people with dementia to give them a place to relax undisturbed.
Sugino obtained a retired bus stop sign?from local public transportation provider Toyohashi Rail Road, and installed it in 2021.?Although the cafe does not have residents, she said she wanted to make the place a symbol for helping those with dementia.
After the initiative became known in the community, Toyohashi Rail Road got a number of requests from local nursing care homes, and the company has so far offered bus stop signs to a total of 15 facilities.
The firm said it has received words of gratitude, with some care home workers saying that when residents?are asked to wait for a bus, they feel that their feelings are being acknowledged and tend to calm down.
Some have expressed concerns over lying to those with dementia, but those involved believe the good it does makes up for it.
“The initiative provides care for people with dementia and reduces the burden of caretakers,” said Keiko Akagawa, an official of Toyohashi Rail Road. “We hope to continue offering (bus stop signs).”
Aichi no Mori, a group home in Toyohashi, set up a mock bus stop and a bench in June, in cooperation with Toyohashi Rail Road.
Hiromi Nishiguchi, the manager at the group home, said around 10 people a day, including those walking near the facility, use the bench, with some coming to sit there as many as three times a day.
“They go back to their room when we tell them ’Let’s go back since a bus isn’t coming,’” Nishiguchi said. “Some even forget that they were waiting for a bus.”
Sugino said children who are interested in the initiative started coming to the Anki Cafe and are communicating with people with dementia, adding that she feels the place is generating a lot of positivity.
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