i know what you mean about the old people and the bikes
… but honestly, i thought that at first but i see young people and old people alike ringing their bells. I think it doesn’t have the same affect that it does in Australia - they are geniunely warning people that they are coming.
(Not slowing down etc is another matter.)
It reminds me of Indonesia - well Jakarta specifically - where, while driving, people use their horns along with their indicators to tell people that they are turning. I once asked my friend if it was offensive to use the horn so much and he laughed, and brushed it off saying it was the Indonesian’s ‘national sport’.
In Australia we only use the car horn when there is a dangerous situation so sometimes its hard to understand… but I guess being a gaijin living in Japan comes with a fair few of those issues!