But first, I've been meaning to write about cycling in Japan for some time now. In a way, I'm happy I put it off until now because I would have sounded overly bitter and resentful after my first few attempts at cycling here a couple of weeks ago.
Now, as far as I'm concerned there are two aspects to cycling in Japan, and it all depends on which kind of bicycle I use: city bike or road bike.
As you may know, I brought my road bike to Japan to keep up my triathlon training (if you want to have a look, it's this one). But of course, I can't really use the road bike for daily errands such as shopping. I would hate to leave the bike unattended somewhere, in fact I don't even own a lock for it. And I would have to wear cycling shoes to go shopping, which would be very strange.
So I bought a cheap city bike which I use mainly to go to the train station, to the gym, and for shopping. This is actually the cheapest bike I've ever owned, but it serves its purpose perfectly. Have a look:
The concept of bicycle lanes is virtually non-existent in Japan. People use city bikes all the time, but most of them just use the pedestrian paths. And as long as I'm riding my city bike, I'm perfectly comfortable riding there as well.
But when I ride my road bicycle, the pedestrian paths hold a couple of surprises that make them a very inconvenient option: there are potholes, street lamps and road signs narrowing the path, pedestrians and other cyclists going at different speeds, and so on. So, the only other option is using the street. But that's also not perfect: there are many, MANY traffic lights, it's possible to get into traffic jams, and some drivers pass by rather too closely for my taste. All this makes cycling a rather stressful experience, quite in contrast to Germany where I found it very relaxing. (Basically, this is the part that would have sounded bitter and resentful a couple of weeks ago).
In the meantime, I have found a route that may not be perfect, but at least viable - and better than everything else I tried. It consists of a 5km loop where a dedicated bicycle lane runs parallel to the road. This loop has only five traffic lights, which is really something to be thankful for in this city! Everytime I went there, there were a couple of other cyclists doing loops, so I guess that this is really one of the better options to ride a road bicycle in this area.
The loop is located about 10km from my apartment, and so far I've tried two different routes to get there. The most direct path is a big and very busy street with several lanes in each direction and virtually no traffic lights. However, the cars on this street are way too fast and pass very closely. So this is not a very enjoyable option. Another option I've tried is somewhat of a detour, nearly twice as long as the direct path, and with many more traffic lights. But it's also a more quiet street and everybody drives a lot more slowly because of all the traffic lights. That makes it my favourite option right now.
In fact, I went there earlier today. Have a look at the track:
