It’s either I see them about to crash into me and move out of the way, or they just barrel into my shoulder when I’m not looking.
Today I decided not to move and this old dude bounced off my shoulder into the wall, gave me a very offended and aggressive look.
Am I the asshole here? I feel like the foot traffic here is obnoxious as hell.
Update to address some of the comments and avoid getting flamed:
No I do not lack special awareness, people are bashing into my blind spots.
No this does not happen all the time, about 4 times in total, compared with 0 in my home country.
No I am not “going against the traffic”, one of these incidents was in the literal center of the platform.
No I did not maliciously shove an old man into a wall, he walked straight into me and I decided I wasn’t going to move. Keep in mind also that this guy was not on his phone, he was looking straight ahead. I was also close to the train tracks so it would have been dangerous for me to jerk out of the way. Also by old I mean about 40.
And to the people that are saying “well it’s not a problem for me so it must be your fault” and the similar mindset of “every gaijin in Japan is an obnoxious, rude and self absorbed douchebag except myself”, just chill a bit.
Entertain the idea that there are other explanations possible besides people being selfish morons.
29 comments
I never get crashed into in any of the many crowded stations I go through.
Do you walk slowly? Stop in the middle of the lanes?
I think I saw in the news that lately people do it on purpose, specially to women (i think it’s called butsukariya)
> Am I the asshole here? I feel like the foot traffic here is obnoxious as hell.
That includes the getting-bumped-into you.
You need to be aware when walking in a crowded area. Some people aren’t (either due to obliviousness or distractions — including looking at their phone). Generally speaking everyone goes into hive mode and avoids each other. Some people don’t.
And some people are assholes who blame others when they fuck up.
And some people don’t practice basic etiquette and get off on bumping into others.
I have no idea which one you are.
i make it a challenge not to bump to people.
especially during the rush hour going back to home
What are you doing to crash into so many people? Just walk behind someone walking in a straight enough line and everything will be okay…
Literally no spatial awareness here
Tilt your body or make it really obvious which direction you are going. They will actually get it and move to the opposite direction.
Or just slipstream. No hassle, full protection from front.
I almost never bump into people at crowded stations. You need to actively avoid other people.
“I decided not to move” out of the way.
Well then you’re the problem.
You bumped an old man into a wall?
[removed]
This isn’t me coming at you, but I’ve navigated Shinjuku/Shibuya/Ikebukuro stations for quite a while, every day, and never really bumped into anyone ever. Definitely have stepped on the back of people’s shoes, but that’s it.
Do you not know how to move? Everyone else seems perfectly capable of not running into others on a daily basis.
I was at a packed Tokyo Station on Saturday around 2:30pm. I transferred between JR and Marunouchi Lines. The crowds were dense with people running to their trains, pulling suitcases, pushing strollers or hauling their oversized backpacks. Even with my bigger than average body, I didn’t have much a problem anyone pushing or bumping into me. There were a few brushes, but nothing like a crash. Just do a little side maneuver, slow down or speed up to avoid direct hits.
Only issue I have with Japanese transit is people pushing their way in aggressively only to stop at the door when there’s space inside the train, blocking people going in and out.
The head/face/body of a person is not always indicative of the direction they will be moving.
Instead, I observe and pay attention to their feet when I’m moving though and past people – The direction their feet is pointing is also the direction that they’ll be moving, and you’ll pick up right away when they change direction as they do so too.
This usually (almost always?) allows me to dodge anyone who suddenly changes direction, and might otherwise crash into me…
Interestingly, there’s been studies done where they found men don’t give way as much as women do. One I saw was talking about how they had women walk through crowds and not give way and they bump into *tons* of men who for the most part (authors hypothesized it was seemingly unconsciously) assumed the woman would give way. But bumped into almost no other women, cos women gave way to them. Like instead of what you’d naturally expect, compromise that both parties give a little so you can pass smoothly, men just walk on through a space like there’s no one else around – I wish I could find the link to where I read this it was pretty interesting!
And I tested it out a couple of times after in shinjuku station actually and it’s totally true men very often didn’t give way until the last possible split second when they realised I wasn’t going to, or we indeed bumped – and I also got plenty of dirty looks, which I wished so badly I could hold up a sign each time saying “you didn’t give way to me either, asshole” lol 😂 Like the difference between when I specifically didn’t give way to men was night and day compared to how I’d made my way through the station every day up until that time and I too bumped into almost no women as they DID give way. Fascinating – and more than a little annoying when reflecting on it and the realization men *quite literally* move through the world like they fn own it. So much better if we all just naturally gave way to each other.
Anyway, dunno if you’re male or female, but either way if you get bumped into “when you’re not looking” I can’t really understand why you think that’s anything but a you problem… more people navigate through the crowds in Shinjuku every damn day than any other train station on earth and most of them seem to be able to do it just fine… 🤦♂️
I’ve noticed in Japan a lot of people lack courtesy when walking in crowded areas.
Most are okay of course. I guess you’ve gotta walk with purpose and occasionally weave to avoid collisons. Some people are assholes/morons though.
When I lived in Italy the people were extremely pushy regarding public transport and had zero hesitation regarding pushing you out of their way. I have not noticed this at all while residing in Japan though. Even when we’re packed in like sardines they seem to be pretty respectful.
it’s funny how the comments in this thread are 50/50 blaming OP or saying that Japanese have no spatial awareness. I want to join the second camp too. I never bumped into someone, but that’s because I’m always careful to avoid people that are obviously not looking where they are going (and yes I’m walking on the left, don’t gaijin shame me). I especially often have it happen that people will just abruptly stop in a busy area of the station, and everyone has to walk around to avoid them. so yeah, lots of Japanese are just totally oblivious to their surroundings and just don’t give a shit
If this is a regular problem for you, you probably lack spacial awareness and/or have little experience in heavily crowded areas.
This is a you problem
I’ve shoulder checked people in shinjuku station before. Seems like they purposely try to smash into you.
this happens a lot to me too and couple of times i almost thought that my school uniform will be pulled off
About a year after i arrived, I was walking through Shinjuku with a FOB friend. I was navigating the crowds smoothly while he kept bashing into people and thinking they were singling him out. When he asked how I was avoiding people, I just said, “I dunno, I can see where they’re going.”
About a year later, he told me he was showing some visitors around, and he was walking smoothly through Shinjuku while they kept crashing. They asked how he did it and he said “I dunno, I can see where… ohh”
>Today I decided not to move
Well, there’s the problem. Crowd avoidance is not only what others do. Everyone has to do his part.
The most obnoxious one to me is when people don’t follow the arrow/direction guide in the station be it on stairs or straight pathways. I ram them without hesitation.
You’re not alone. I’m larger than average and super aware of the space around me yet still get bumped into people who are not being careful.
The population density of Tokyo mixed with the natives’ apathy towards personal space means it’s going to happen.
Why should I give way all the time when others don’t give way?
This is the bitterness that builds inside you day after day of crowded commuting, and no doubt that’s exactly what the people crashing into you are thinking too.
I’ve been through this and thought about whether it was a Japanese thing etc.
But now I just let it go. I give way all the time no matter if the guy is purposefully not giving way or just not paying attention. It’s not worth getting worked up about.
Skill issue.
Kidding. A lot of people are frustratingly unaware of the space around them. So many times I’ve had to tell me wife, holy fuck shit look FORWARD. Its obviously not everyone but a ton of people look at stuff or their phones while walking and fuck it’s annoying.
I live in the inaka now so if they do it here they crash their cars. It’s a city thing I guess.