The other day I was heading home with the bus from Shijo Kawaramachi and there was this older guy (late 60s/early 70s maybe) hanging around the bus stop, announcing which bus arrived, herding people inside and signalling to the driver when to depart.
Only, this guy was not wearing the uniform the bus guides usually have, in fact he was wearing a Saizeriya shirt and holding a trash bag. He also talked to a lady waiting behind me in line saying Otsukaresama etc., maybe they're coworkers at Saize?
Anyway, looking around the bus stop I eventually found a little laminated paper saying basically "there is a certain person who is impersonating official bus guides. We have asked them to stop multiple times but they are not complying". I am almost certain it's referring to this ojisan.
He was pretty rude and pushy, especially to foreign tourists. Like, one time he kept screaming "INSIDE INSIDE!" at one lady who was standing around the door of the bus. The bus wasn't very crowded and she wasn't even blocking the door or anything. When a bus bound for Kyoto station arrived he yelled "KYOTO KYOTO KYOTO" for atleast a couple dozen times.
I found a Japanese blog article talking about this guy. It seems there's also a similar "volunteer guide" near Kinkakuji, who isn't affiliated with any official guiding company and apparently gives unsolicited tours to random people.
Anyone have experience with this type of guy? I wonder whats going on in their heads. To me it seemed like they want to be respected and feel in control, rather than to genuinley help others.
by kanzensuu28