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lol at the guy on the escalator

I wonder what kind of reaction this would get in NYC...

that would have been handy

This reminds me of the part in The Office (US) when Jim gives Dwight a mint every time he reboots.

@rootneg2

"hello, my namea Borat, nice meet you."

"I'll punch you in the ***** nuts, man."

answered.

the ones of the escalator and the guy in the grocery store are the best.

Neuz89 beat me to it. appologies.

"I wonder what kind of reaction this would get in NYC..."

Think Borat. Now put him on a tricycle.

Quite effective, almost Pavlovian. Good thinking.

I only wish that worked in the US. I ride my bike on streets and trails all the time and people don't move. I know I just politely yell "on the right" (telling them I'm on the right and I want them to move) and people either don't get it or they move to the right thinking thats where I want them. And I always thank them if they move. Maybe its the bell. Gotta get the bell.

Haha! Very amusing!

I specially liked the escalator and the shopping centre. Japanese must be so used to that sound that its just a natural reaction to give way.

Works pretty good! Wish it would everywhere else in the world though :D

Brilliant!

The respect Japanese people have for others is amazing.

The guy who said that it reminded him of the Office and Dwight with the mint was spot on. The ringing of that bell is definately a Pavilonian response for the Japanese people. I know this because I lived in Tokyo for ten months while studying abroad, and for the first few months I was not yet properly trained to move out of the way at the sound of that bell and thus had many an angry biker behind me. For some reason every single bicycle bell in Japan sounds exactly the same, so its pretty easy to start associating that sound with "get the f$#% out of my way!," which is pretty much what it means.

Oh and for anyone looking for a translation of the video... its pretty much exactly what you think he would be saying except for one hillarious part. He starts talking about how everyone moves out of the way for his bell saying "salary men also, housewives also, super market worker also, people riding escalators also..." but the best part is when he cuts through the two young guys walking together and says "homosexuals also." It's at the 1:20 mark. If you have a good ear you can probably pick out homosekushalu.

The ending was the best for sure, the grocery worker shuffled boxes around in the aisle without hesitation. Good find!

The Japanese people are very considerate.

I don't think it has anything to do with consideration. It has to do with self preservation. Read shirosamurai's comment.

The Americans should have used that during WWII.

Japan has really nice sidewalks.

Sucoi! I love how it shows the deep difference of our American culture to the Japanese.

This really made my day.

I wonder if that would work with super market check-out lines or lines for the rest rooms at a club....

I think it depends somewhat upon where you live in Japan. Tokyo people are pretty considerate about space from what I have heard. I've lived in Kyushu (in the south) for about 15 years, and quite often when I ring the bell on my bike people don't move. I have gotten some glares and then the space is slowly given... It could be because I am a foreigner, dunno.

I have talked about driving with my Japanese friends and many have said that Kyushu drivers are quite pushy and not very respectful of right of way and so on when compared to Tokyo drivers. I wonder if the same attitude might extend to pedestrians as well.

Recently in some bigger cities, there is a "manners" push to get people to walk their bikes in the core downtown areas (which makes a lot of sense). This is typical of Japan. Instead of having two cops waiting on a corner to bust someone, they try the "guilt trip/do the right thing" method first in many cases. It is nice to live here in a lot of ways...

Pavlov's Dog

Notice how everyone moved to the left of the sidewalk.

Get outta my way punk.. I got a bell..

Why didn't i think of it. i am gonna start carrying a bell from now on.

all the normal people moving aren't quite as funny once you know the backstory except for the grocery store or the escalator. or the homosexuals.

I'm getting more and more convinced that I was born in the wrong part of the world..T-T
[or maybe 'Non omne quod nitet aurum est' (all that glitters is not gold)??]

Anyway.. I think it would be really funny to live in Japan...^^