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The story
TV Asahi announcer Tsumugi Mitani (32) revealed on her Threads account that she was left unsettled after a food-delivery cyclist riding on the sidewalk rang a bell at her and called out “Oi!” moments after she stepped off a bus. The post was picked up on 5ch’s Geisports速報+ (entertainment/sports news) board, where discussion focused less on whether the “Oi!” remark was appropriate and more on whether the concept of “riding the wrong way” even applies to bicycles on sidewalks in the first place — sparking a broader debate over how to interpret Japan’s Road Traffic Act. Many commenters pointed out that bicycles are often permitted on sidewalks, and that ringing a bell to make a pedestrian move aside is itself the real violation.
Thu, Oct 8, 12:21 PM
TV Asahi announcer Tsumugi Mitani (32) updated her Threads account by the 8th, writing about bicycle road manners.
She described the situation: “Right after I got off the bus, a food-delivery bike with a backpack, riding on the sidewalk, rang its bell at me and then said, ‘Oi!’”
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
Can't talk back since it's a bike — the guy's already gone, so now it's just delayed rage.
Talking back to a bike that's already riding away is actually a pretty tall order.
Or a soccer fan?
Pro wrestling fan.
Guys who can fire back on the spot must just be used to it.
They're walking a real warpath lol
What bugged me was this:
I was on my motorbike, first in line waiting at a red light at a signaled intersection, when a bicycle squeezed past me, cut in front right at the stop line, and then the second it turned green, threw up a right-turn hand signal and boldly turned right.
Right turns were banned there, so I should've laid on the horn.
The moment a pedestrian walking on the sidewalk has to dodge out of the way of an oncoming bike, that's already a violation on the bike's part.
A sharp 'Oi!' would piss you off, but an 'Oi… (oi oi?)' just means the guy was startled by the sudden situation too.
That said, under current law bikes are supposed to stick to the road — if you want to use the sidewalk, you're supposed to get off and push it.
After all, bicycles are classified as light vehicles.
Though from a car's point of view, they're still a nuisance.
The second half is wrong.
You're right that 'with traffic' or 'against traffic' doesn't apply to bikes on the sidewalk.
But riding on the sidewalk isn't a violation either.
If riding on the road feels dangerous, you're allowed to proceed on the sidewalk at a crawl.
The only actual violation in this whole story is ringing the bell to try to make a pedestrian move.
But first, you need to learn the rules yourself.
Pedestrians are seriously a pain.
It pisses me off when they strut around like they own the place.
Well, good luck with that.
For instance, there's a chance she got off the bus, didn't look around at all, and was standing in the middle of the sidewalk staring at her phone.
Fair point.
But riding right past the doors while a bus is stopped at a bus stop makes you a dangerous idiot, blue ticket or not (a 'blue ticket' is a minor traffic citation, as opposed to the more serious red one).
Background and Key Issues in This Thread
Under Japan’s Road Traffic Act, bicycles are classified as “light vehicles” and are, in principle, required to ride on the road. However, there are exceptions that let bikes proceed slowly on sidewalks — for instance, when a “bicycles permitted” sign is posted, when the rider is under 13 or over 70, or when riding on the road is judged too dangerous. Because of this, the concept of “riding the wrong way” simply doesn’t apply to bikes on sidewalks, and the many comments in the thread pointing out “there’s no wrong-way riding on a sidewalk” are legally accurate. On the other hand, a cyclist on a sidewalk ringing a bell to make a pedestrian move aside is explicitly prohibited under the Road Traffic Act, and the thread largely converged on the view that “the only real violation here was ringing the bell.” Rather than dwelling on the emotional question of whether shouting “Oi!” was appropriate, this thread notably shifted toward the more objective question of legal interpretation.
*This article is an excerpt and summary based on the 5ch (Geisports速報+) thread “TV Asahi’s popular female announcer Tsumugi Mitani ‘frustrated’ after food-delivery bike riding the ‘wrong way’ on the sidewalk rings its bell and says ‘Oi!’.”
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