I was walking in Kyoto when I noticed a pedestrian traffic light.
It was red. Inside the light, there was a pedestrian icon. Underneath it, there was also a countdown-style signal with progress indicators.
What I liked immediately was how clear it felt.
Instead of making people guess when the light would change, it gave real-time feedback. You could understand, at a glance, whether you were about to wait a long time or only a few seconds.
I waited for about a minute. Then it turned green.
And when it did, the same logic continued. The cycle repeated in a way that always let people know how much time they had left, whether that meant crossing now or waiting for the next turn.