Out and About

I've been wanting to post a video of what it's like riding a bike on the "highways" around here. It's great getting around by bike because the major roads are still very bike friendly. Even so, it can be pretty nerve-racking. At one point on this ride, I looked over my shoulder as I frequently do to see what's going on with traffic, and there was a huge truck about 2 feet from my face. It freaked me out and I jerked the handlebars a little bit, but luckily not enough to crash. There aren't many big trucks on the roads here, and even the biggest aren't as big as in the US. Something similar happened when I was in NC and that was much scarier because it was a full-size 18-wheeler going 50mph faster than me at the time. This was about 1/2 the size and going my speed.

Things you may notice in this video: There are police officers on many corners just standing around. In fact, one scolded me for crossing the street a few seconds before the walk signal changed. At least that's what I think he was doing. There are short steel railings along the sides of most major and some minor streets. The streets are VERY smooth and clean. There are NO potholes. It's really a biker's dream city. After Boston, it really does feel like a fantasy land. I'm going to be spoiled after living here. If you didn't know, they drive on the left side of the road in Japan. I am already very used to this. I thought at first that I might have a mishap with this, but it's already uncomfortable thinking about riding on the right side of the road. I'm riding kind of slow in this video because it's kind of hard to ride while recording, but you can see the cars aren't going much faster. I would say the speed limits here are lower in general, probably by an average of 20%. On these major roads, the speed limits are often only 30mph, but people obviously will drive much faster.

This was my first time in this exact area. It's called Ginza and is one of the most popular shopping areas. It's on the other side of the palace garden from where we live. Again, you may notice the extremely nice streets. It was about 4pm at this point, and the sidewalks were pretty full. They actually have police conducted lines for crossing the street around here. I wanted to get a video of people waiting in line to cross the street. It's pretty close to the opposite of Boston when it comes to pedestrians. People will almost never walk across the street without the walk sign.

I just threw this in because I thought it was a little funny. This is a typical gas station around our apartment. There is one about a block away, but I didn't realize what it was until after a couple weeks. And in case you're interested, I think gas is about $6/gallon here, but not sure.

I haven't been posting much because I try to post according to the pictures I take, but I haven't been getting out much and have forgotten my camera the few times I have. This is going to take practice, but hopefully it will become more second nature.