Need help with ticket machines at stations? A hidden train staff could be one button press away! 

Although ticket machines in Japanese stations have an English menu, it can still be confusing with all the buttons and different train lines. Sometimes you just wish a helpful guide will magically appear and show you the way…

Well, this can literally happen in some older train stations!

If you press the help/assistance button on certain ticket machines, a hidden attendant will pop out of the wall and guide you. Difficult to imagine what that looks like? Check out the video below!

I could not find a list of stations that offer this service, but I read online that it is typically only available at older stations. If you encounter a ticket machine that has the help/assistance button and a panel that looks like it might double as a door, you might be in luck to witness this magic (but of course, only press the button when you actually need help)!