Comments on: How To Ride A Bicycle In Japan

By: Stuart M.

Stuart M. — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 08:00:00 +0000

I live and bike in Japan. Up here in Hokkaido, the distances are bigger and bicycle riding is only for school children, housewives and grandpas. The school children while riding make every effort to text, read their cell phones, listen to IPods and totally abuse their bicycle by never inflating their tires and standing on their pedals instead of changing gears. The grandpas all ride against traffic in the road. I guess it’s kamikaze behavior left over from the war. The housewives? Well, they stay on the sidewalk and generally behave themselves. Riding in the road isn’t much fun when there is a sunken sewer grate every 20 meters or so and you have to swerve out into traffic to avoid them. In general, Japanese loathe bicycle riding and everyone can’t wait to get a car so they can let it idle at the convenience store while they go in to buy an ice cream bar. Am I being cynical? I’ve lived here for ten years. I should know.

By: Valentin

Valentin — Sat, 02 Nov 2013 11:17:00 +0000

OMG I’m such a dumbass! I got my bike a week ago, and since then I’ve been riding it on the sidewalk. Now when I think about it, people in my country ride their bikes on the road. Even I did when I was a kid and got my first (and last) bike. Now why did I assume, that I’m supposed to ride my bike on the sidewalk? Maybe because 90% of the people on bikes that I see here are doing it. Good thing I decided to research Japanese traffic laws.

By: エジプト人

エジプト人 — Sat, 05 Oct 2013 04:55:00 +0000

I am in Japan now and I see these things all the time, but I don’t really know how to ride. If I did, I’d use nothing but a bike :)

By: deg

deg — Sun, 26 May 2013 19:08:00 +0000

planning a trip to japan this year. thought to bring my own bike but probably it is a lot easier to buy a simple bike local. interesting phenomenon,…. biking at the pedestrian area. i was thinking to bike from tokyo to the west coast. or just as far as the bike goes :-)

By: Emin Köklü

Emin Köklü — Fri, 10 May 2013 06:49:00 +0000

Wow, impressive that Google Images is finding so many images when searching for “gaijin trap”. haha

By: Jaska

Jaska — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 13:33:00 +0000

Riding a bike is very miserable in Japan. I have never seen any other country where other riders would be so selfish as Japanese. They don’t repect any law and put other rider at risk all the time. Japanese ride on the wrong side of the road, two side by side, playing with cell phone, holding an umberella and not watching ahead. Seven years and over 30 000 km on bike in Japan have just made me hate Japanese. It is time to go home into a place where bicycle rider follow the law and do not put other people on harms way.

Good by Japan. I will never come back. You can keep doing this stupid stuff all by ourself.