What do you think of people walking along, engrossed in their cell phones or smartphones, not bothering to look where they are going? Is it a problem for you?
Have Your Say ( 31 )
JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
-
In an OECD survey of 36 nations on people's perceptions of their living conditions, Japan ranked 21st in terms of quality of life; Australia, Norway and the U.S. were the top 3. What do you think of that?
( 12 )
-
The Fukuoka mayor is banning public servants from drinking alcohol for a month; the Osaka mayor has declared war on tattoos on civil servants. What do you think of all this?
( 21 )
-
Why do you think Facebook's stock failed to live up to the hype in its trading debut?
( 13 )
-
Which sport, when played well, do you think is the most exciting to watch?
( 62 )
-
What's the difference between an average burger and a great one?
( 12 )
-
- Business Teaching Positions - Part-time - Kanto Region
- Interac, Tokyo
- Salary: ¥3,000 ~ ¥5,000 / Hour
-
- National Relief/Substitute Teacher - summer start
- Interac, Tokyo
- Salary: ¥275,000 ~ ¥300,000 / Month
-
- 営業パーソン
- 加治金属工業株式会社, Tochigi
- Salary: ¥240,000 ~ ¥350,000 / Month Negotiable
Order by Time Order by Popularity
31 Comments
Login to comment
-3
some14some
it's a good thing. Such people keep me on my toes all the time whether i am walking or riding a bicycle, something good for my nervous system.
0
Michael J. Morris
At least they are going at a fairly slow pace, what I hate is when they are bicycling and using their phone, that is much more dangerous!
0
warallthetime
I saw a woman on her bike in front of me earlier this week chatting away on the phone she weaved right into oncoming traffic was nearly hit and she not only didn't acknowledge the driver she kept talking and riding at the same pace.
-1
Scotman
I think it's great! Yay!
0
The Munya Times
Many of them stupid will kill themselves or others in the traffic. These gadgets are the humankind's great contribution to natural selection that seems to replace human evolution.
Alternatively, they might as well learn to use them properly but it has hardly ever happened to humans. Abusing whatever they have.
0
tranel
idiots, that's what they are. Bloody zombies. Whenever one is blocking my way, I make sure I take the time to give the idiot a hard shove and a blistering stare, and if time allows it, a telling off.
I know that The Japanese Way frowns on this kind of "rudeness", but the standard Japanese Disapproving Stare isn't very effective with people who don't notice that you're there in the first place. More loudspeaker admonitions isn't going to help either because people filter them out, so the only way is to physically stop the person and tell him/her off.
0
The Munya Times
If you should have just one favorable experience of any of them zombies understood it and woke up, please let us know how you did it.
1
sillygirl
Dangerous I D I O T S
0
hoserfella
tranel- somehow I doubt your internet bravado. But if so, you're gonna do it to the wrong Japanese fella soon whos going to go off on you.
1
kurisupisu
It keeps the accident and emergency departments of hospitals in the black-good for the economy
2
Farmboy
It's not a problem for me, though I might harbour some undeserved feeling that they are morons.
2
Ah_so
Sacrasm, the only way to deal with a truly loaded question.
I really hope that JT follows up with something like, "Drunk drivers who smash into other people - are they irresponsible?"
1
Foxie
What's more of a problem are the ones standing in front of the sugar in the supermarket, texting to their content and completely ignoring other customers and blocking access to products. So rude.
0
tranel
@hoserfella and Munya Times: I've actually done it on a number of occasions. Yes, people around me only notice the loud-rude gaijin in their midst (and most likely not the idiot with the cell phone), but I don't care. If I get a "sumimasen" from the zombie in question, I am happy. Maybe the person will think twice next time?
A few good phrases to growl at keitai zombies:
そこに止まるのはばかじゃない？
周りの人にちょっと考えて下さい！
周りのことぜんぜんなにも気づかない！危ないよ！
0
tranel
＠hoserfella: This is precisely what is wrong, one day you'll tell off the "wrong person". Well if that happens, too bad. I agree with you, it is better to just clam up and be pestered by ignorant morons rather than taking action and resolve the problem.
The whole of Japan works that way: Better to clam up and hope the problem goes away by itself. Well, you can see for yourself where that got Japan can't you.
1
ExportExpert
If they are in my path or heading in my direction I drop a shoulder into them as we meet, usually snaps them out of their little world and mutter some expletive, they soon get the idea.
-1
The Munya Times
tranelOct. 09, 2011 - 12:31PM JST
I did myself so my friend and got a sumimasen too, but they just didn't understand what it was about. They are already sleepwalkers. Better ask them "why do you such a dangerous thing while you are going?" Just watch their reaction or answer.
They always say sumimasen when they don't understand the situation. Yet, you are on spot with the gaijin thing. When I was walking with a J friend of mine and did the same thing and told off one of them without any result my J friend told me I it was useless and I would better not to do so. They would think only think "変な外人は変なことを言った”
-6
hoserfella
tranel and ExportExpert - sounds like you both go out of the way to put your shoulder into Japanese boys or 137lb salarymen. I'm sure neither one of you would have the stones to do that to anyone else.
3
ExportExpert
Hosefella I got the stones alright sonny, i drop my shoulder into into the big lads too.
-2
hoserfella
Daddy-o, you are my hero
2
Spidapig24
ExportExpert
Love it, been doing it for years. They certainly wake up in a hurry.
0
Tahoochi
Ah_so Oct. 09, 2011 - 01:07AM JST
Absolutely! I don't understand why JT is asking this question...... why not just: "Have your say against idiots engrossed in their i-phones"
0
The Munya Times
ExportExpertOct. 09, 2011 - 12:47PM JST
When you meet these zombies with their cell phone in their hands you don't even have to bump a shoulder into them the can manage to bump in you unless you can jump aside quickly enough.
Last time I slim woman of about 80 kilos, hypnotized by her cell phone that she was pushing while riding on her bicycle hit me on a narrow sidewalk 'cause I just couldn't jump aside into the concrete wall of the building. She lost her balance fell off her bike and touched down with the grace of an ANA Boeing 787 Dremliner with pilots pooping in the loo and sent her gadget to PC heaven. I stopped to see if she need assistance or got hurt. She bursted in anger and looked at me as if I wiped out all her family, mother, father, children an alligator pet and never occurred to her to ask me whether I was injured. There were two married couples there they helped her to stand up and told her off "abunainaaaaaa"
She was simply unable to understand that it was she who hit me riding on her bike.
These are zombies with wasted brain, nothing helps, they need medical attention believe me. They are like drug addicts with these gadgets.
-1
The Munya Times
"Last time I slim woman " reads "Last time a slim woman" sorry
-4
choiwaruoyaji
I sometimes walk and use my phone at the same time.
Can't stand to read the posts here from non-japanese posters here talking about how they deliberately give a nasty shoulder to people walking and texting... Such horrible foreigners we get here in Japan...
-3
hoserfella
Munya - either you mean 80lbs or this woman was 2m tall
2
Spidapig24
choiwaruoyaji
I think you will find that people dont go out of their way to deliberately bump people on the phone, more like they just dont move out of these brain dead zombies ways as they walk along in their preoccupied trances. In the end if the person on the phone was paying attention then they wouldnt get bumped into simple as that. And l think you will find its not just foreigners who walk through people.
0
The Munya Times
Just one personal experience of mine with this shoulder bumping thing.
In Tokyo in most cases when I walk in the streets I suffer a lot of bumping of this kind. I simply cannot walk in a natural way without it. I noticed that even people, both men and women, who don't even text while walking and can see me, as soon as they see I turn my shoulder away and step aside half way to avoid bumping into each others, they just go on walking on as if I wasn't there. They just wouldn't return my courtesy of yielding them half way and as if I was an inferior to them they bump in me and plow through me. Now, that happens even when they don't use their cell phone. When they use it, it's hopeless.
On the contrast when I am in Kobe for example, I hardly have these unpleasant experiences. Even less unpleasant experiences with the phone addicts.
0
Godan
Was drinking with some of my sensei (Japanese) after practice one day and one of them shared a story of how one guy (Japanese) purposefully walked into his way on the stairs of the station exit. He wasn't backing down and they bumped - my sensei stood up to the guy and the other guy realizing his mistake (my sensei is built like a brick!) ran off.
More times than not, I think these people who do this do it on purpose and target people who they think look "happy." It is a really sad commentary on life in Tokyo that this kind of thing happens.
1
tokyokawasaki
I hate it because they get in my way and slow me down all the time. Especially on escalators and stairs, or when trying to walk on/off a train.
0
Greapper1
I do it all the time.
Mwahhahaa
Back to top