Reasons I Love Japan - Bicycles!

One of the things I love most about Japan is how people use bicycles so much! I love riding my bike everywhere! I'm so glad the program had a bike for me to use. It's cute and it's... vintage! :)

Me in front of my dorm building.

The basket is the best part! It's really quite handy.

A lot of people use bicycles to get around, but students especially. There are no bike racks on campus, just bike parking places, and they usually can't fit all the students' bikes! 

People usually lock their bikes so no one can walk off with them, but no one ever locks them to anything. Some don't even lock their bikes at all! When asked why people just leave their bikes out unlocked, our Japanese friends said it is because "it's not polite to steal." How cool is that! Japan is so great!!

Some places do have bike racks. There are quite a few around the train station, but that's the only place I remember seeing any. 

This one is the cheapest I've found, it gives you the first 3 hours for free and then it's 100 yen for every 24 hours.




You put your bike in one of the slots, and it will keep it there for you until you come back. When you do, you enter the slot number, put the money in, and then it will let you take your bike. You still have to lock your bike, but the bike rack keeps them all nice and neat so they don't look the bike parking places at the school! :) 

I really like the bike locks they have here! They are smart! They work like this:

Can you see my little key chain of the Rising Sun? :)





Kind of hard to take a picture of because it's right under the seat, but the lock is just a metal circle, about the size of a handcuff. The bottom opens up when it's unlocked. All it does is stop the back wheel from turning. Oh, and it's attached to the bike itself! I think it's really cool, I want get one here to use at home. 

I can't think of just one thing I like most about Japan, but bicycles would definitely make my top five! It is SO fun to ride my bike everywhere!