What would you do?

[CSAR]

Here's something that happens rather frequently in Japan. Without explaining Japanese culture, the options each person had available, appropriate train/subway behavior, etc., etc., I'm interested in knowing what you'd do if you were the guy who got hit.

http://www.veoh.com/videos/v8026199Yex3N5C3

Also, from around 6:30 AM to 9:00 AM and 6:00 PM until the last train at around midnight, many train/subway lines are crowded to around 150% of capacity. If you think being in a traffic jam is bad, then please switch places with me. I would love to be in my own car, listening to my own music, sitting in a comfy seat, drinking a cup of coffee, etc., than being pressed next to Mr. Japanese Salaryman who reeks of cheap shochu, natto, stale cigarettes, canned coffee, and Mandom aftershave - oh, and he's picking his nose/looking at what came out and his shoulders look like a Bing Crosby Christmas (i.e., covered with dandruff).

[TheArtist]

i once heard a comedian describe being in japan like this: "everywhere you go, and no matter what time it is, it's like a big concert just let out" lol
your post just sort of confirmed it.
sorry for your cramped lifestyle over there, it'd drive me nuts.

[BlInDsIdE]

dang i'd go crazy if it was like that 24/7 everywhere i went

[Dobie-BOY]

Holeeeee shart, dude that would suck sweaty sack.

[CSAR]

I'm still wondering what ya'll would do if you were the guy who got smacked by the geezer.

Here's another vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuMTMXlNEjQ&NR=1

[DSM4Life]

i would just use my car to get to work.

[SaSqUaDgE]

that would suck

[audis4]

just outta curiosity, why do you live in japan?

[wantmoremass]

my bet is he didn't wanna punch back cause he might have lost his place on the train - from what i've read/seen/heard about Japanese culture, work is VERY important and i'm sure he didn't want to be late. i wouldn't have taken that though, spot or not.

on another note, i can't imagine living there - if it ever gets that crowded where i live, i think i'll move elsewhere - i guess you'd just get conditioned to it, but i HATE crowds and can't imagine being in that all the time.

wmm

[jchopper1]

god man and i bitch about missing the green lite. that would suck

[RuhlFreak55]

i would just use my car to get to work.

exactly.....none of us can comprehend this lol it's way outside our range of life.....although it does kinda remind me of the expo at the arnold....only not nearly as many hot chicks obviously

[firmechicano831]

good thing they were all thin. Imagine if a bunch of americans were there on vacation like these.

[Hollywood080]

I probably would do the same thing that guy did. The old guy was just that an OLD guy. I just wonder how do you get off at your stop!

[CSAR]

just outta curiosity, why do you live in japan?

1. Wife & kids
2. University tenure
3. 5.5 months off, but get paid year-round
4. Opportunities to study foreign language acquisition
5. Personal acquisition of a unique second language
6. Aikido

Some of the reasons that I came here initially were laid to waste, but the only way I could have known was through experience. The "peaceful", "harmonious", and "beautiful" country that I believed Japan to be turned out to be a sham. I don't want to explain further or I'll be typing all night, but I will say that traveling and living abroad extensively has made me more appreciative of the U.S. (even after serving in the military). Despite our faults and problems, we're second to none.

[Kale]

Clearly a setup, what the fvck was a camera do there just at the right moment ?

[CSAR]

my bet is he didn't wanna punch back cause he might have lost his place on the train - from what i've read/seen/heard about Japanese culture, work is VERY important and i'm sure he didn't want to be late.

That's a pretty good evaluation. However, actual work is not so important, but the company IS. The worst thing you can do to a Japanese person is take them away from their group, whatever it may be. Getting fired is often followed by suicide because they can't handle the shame of not belonging to the company (i.e., group). In my situation at university, the worst thing I can do to a student is kick them out of the class. I've had some real dipshits who made wild monkeys seem tame by comparison, but after I kicked them out of class they cried like babies, wrote letters of profuse apology, offered cash (in Japan it's not bribery, but a sign of sincerity), bowed, and begged to be readmitted. By doing so, it puts the pressure on me to readmit them and give them a second chance. If I didn't do so, then I would be in the wrong.

The whole situation is really complex. The old guy was pretty rude to begin with. He pushed the guy in the black suit out of the way first, before pushing the fat guy with glasses. If he had said "Excuse me" or "Please let me on" the fat guy would have been obliged to let him get on. Japanese are actually quite terrible at communication and will keep their true feelings bottled up until they explode in some form or another.

[CSAR]

Imagine if a bunch of americans were there on vacation like these.

Actually, just about every American, Brit, Scot, Mick, Canadian, Aussie, Kiwi, or other Western person that I've come across has been very polite and space-conscious on the trains/subways.

[CSAR]

Clearly a setup, what the fvck was a camera do there just at the right moment ?

Actually not a setup. It's fairly common to see someone videotaping or photographing Japanese people crowding into trains with their cellphones. The quality is surprisingly good as cellular technology in Japan is light years ahead of anywhere else (the iPhone might be the only exception). My piece of crap phone 4 years ago had a 2 megapixel camera. There are even Japanese guys whose hobby is riding around on particular train lines, getting off at every station, videotaping the comings/goings, etc., etc. It's crazy - you'll see these guys with thousands of dollars worth of camera equipment standing around on the platform recording everything.

[teufelhundenjwa]

I was stationed in Japan for 12 months back in 2001. I remember Hiroshima/Osaka-Kansai being just like this Riding public transportation was an adventure in and of itself. Good times.

[teufelhundenjwa]

And to answer the OP's original question as to "what would I do"? Would want to kick his arse, but then we'd have an "International Incident" on our hands. Then again he prolly knows Karate, just a hunch....j/k

[number twelve]

seems liek that guy didnt wanna lose his spot on the train..