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Most of thos stuff, you work out after a few months in Japan. I get the feeling there is more that the author's personal situation that he isn't saying. After 1

Most of thos stuff, you work out after a few months in Japan. I get the feeling there is more that the author's personal situation that he isn't saying. After 10 years, I really expect a deeper and more nuanced critique. The most difficult experiences in Japan come from not really knowing people more than what they want to show you. The Japanese are masters of the 'public face'. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honne_and_tatemae https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honne_and_tatemae

sho 9y ago
> I get the feeling there is more that the author's personal situation that he isn't saying Yes, I definitely think so too. And the article about cycling in tokyo he links to [1] hints at this more. I've cycled very extensively in tokyo over the years i lived there and the experience he describes sounds, ironically, totally foreign to me. Tokyo's a wonderful and extremely safe place to cycle, which is of course why millions of people do so. To see such an inexplicably and exaggeratedly negative rant about something I rarely had anything but positive experiences with makes me think there's more than a few personal issues colouring the author's viewpoint. > "the vast majority of cyclists in Tokyo are criminally irresponsible" I mean that is just a ludicrous assertion which basically makes me ignore whatever else the author has to say. No wonder he gets dismissed in arguments if that's the sort of thing he comes out with. There are plenty of examples in the article which are equally foreign to me (repeated intimidation during gaijin card checks? Huh? I had one, ever, and they were unfailingly polite). Japan isn't perfect, not even close, but it's not this bad. [1] http://blog.uchujin.co.uk/2012/07/cycling-in-tokyo-irresponsibility-incompetence/ http://blog.uchujin.co.uk/2012/07/cycling-in-tokyo-irrespons...
- Tharkun 9y ago
  I had the same reaction reading their cyclist rant. Even the video made no sense. It show a couple of cyclists committing minor trafic infractions, but apparently those are "criminally irresponsible" acts. It's their blog, so they're welcome to bitch and moan as much as they want. But this strikes me as one of those people who are frequently told to lighten up.
  - dintech 9y ago
    As someone who lives in the UK and has spent a lot of time in Japan, I can promise you that it's way more dangerous to be a pedestrian in the UK. Pedestrian crossings mean nothing to the zooming, lycra-clad morons who think the roads are their own private velodrome.
    - Tharkun 9y ago
      That's not my experience in the UK. In my experience there are very, very few cyclists in the UK. To the point that anything they do wrong is pretty much irrelevant. Disclaimer: I've spent most of my life living in areas where bicycles outnumber cars, so my standards are likely different from yours.
  - enqk 9y ago
    On my first trip to japan, I have been warned by my japanese acquaintances to pay special attention to cyclists in cities because, and I quote: "they are crazy" And I indeed witnessed a total disregard for most safety measures, disregard for pedestrians etc.. While I wouldn't go around and make a documentary out of it, it was indeed a weird phenomena to witness.

sho 9y ago

> I get the feeling there is more that the author's personal situation that he isn't saying Yes, I definitely think so too. And the article about cycling in tokyo he links to [1] hints at this more. I've cycled very extensively in tokyo over the years i lived there and the experience he describes sounds, ironically, totally foreign to me. Tokyo's a wonderful and extremely safe place to cycle, which is of course why millions of people do so. To see such an inexplicably and exaggeratedly negative rant about something I rarely had anything but positive experiences with makes me think there's more than a few personal issues colouring the author's viewpoint. > "the vast majority of cyclists in Tokyo are criminally irresponsible" I mean that is just a ludicrous assertion which basically makes me ignore whatever else the author has to say. No wonder he gets dismissed in arguments if that's the sort of thing he comes out with. There are plenty of examples in the article which are equally foreign to me (repeated intimidation during gaijin card checks? Huh? I had one, ever, and they were unfailingly polite). Japan isn't perfect, not even close, but it's not this bad. [1] http://blog.uchujin.co.uk/2012/07/cycling-in-tokyo-irresponsibility-incompetence/ http://blog.uchujin.co.uk/2012/07/cycling-in-tokyo-irrespons...

Tharkun 9y ago
I had the same reaction reading their cyclist rant. Even the video made no sense. It show a couple of cyclists committing minor trafic infractions, but apparently those are "criminally irresponsible" acts. It's their blog, so they're welcome to bitch and moan as much as they want. But this strikes me as one of those people who are frequently told to lighten up.
- dintech 9y ago
  As someone who lives in the UK and has spent a lot of time in Japan, I can promise you that it's way more dangerous to be a pedestrian in the UK. Pedestrian crossings mean nothing to the zooming, lycra-clad morons who think the roads are their own private velodrome.
  - Tharkun 9y ago
    That's not my experience in the UK. In my experience there are very, very few cyclists in the UK. To the point that anything they do wrong is pretty much irrelevant. Disclaimer: I've spent most of my life living in areas where bicycles outnumber cars, so my standards are likely different from yours.
- enqk 9y ago
  On my first trip to japan, I have been warned by my japanese acquaintances to pay special attention to cyclists in cities because, and I quote: "they are crazy" And I indeed witnessed a total disregard for most safety measures, disregard for pedestrians etc.. While I wouldn't go around and make a documentary out of it, it was indeed a weird phenomena to witness.