It’s a squeeze in Kanto, no matter where you go, or how you get around. This is the city that brought the world “oshiya”, the white-gloved platform attendants who maniacally cram Japan Rail East trains in rush hour. The alternative, driving, isn’t a pleasant option, either. Before you can even purchase a car, you have to prove you have a place to park it. Road tolls, fuel prices, narrow streets and gridlock will wring the money from your pocket and put pressure on your temples even before you get to the office.
What to do? Cycle! A shopping bike, known variously by the perjoratives mamachari and charinko, is a cheap option for getting around your local area. You must be careful, however, about where you park it. In the dense hypercity Tokyo, left bikes create a hazard for cyclist and pedestrian alike, so you have to find a place to park it legally. Keep an eye out for free spots, such as department stores and supermarkets. The safest option is to park at a station – Y100 yen will keep it under the watchful eye of some grizzled, uniformed parking attendant. Don’t be tempted to park it in the street, as those same conscientious officers who mind your bike on the lot are just as dedicated to removing and impounding left bikes. One evening, I left my mountain bike for a friend in front of my local station secured with a sturdy lock. He didn’t take the bike, but the next morning, it wasn’t in the spot where I left it. A parking patrol gnome gave me a lecture about parking on the designated lot and I had to pay Y3000 to liberate it from the clutches of the city workers.
Getting out of the urban crush requires only two wheels and a big bag. Folding bikes and mountain bikes with quick releases on the wheels can be easily bagged and carried on JR trains. Your bike rides JR for Y160, but the freedom to go anywhere on a bike in Japan is priceless. One Sunday, homesick for my native Canada, I disassembled my Giant 12-speed bicycle, bundled it into a nylon carry bag, and made for the central Boso Peninsula. An hour train ride to Midori Ward in central Chiba City led me to rolling green hillsides and picturesque forests, and a few hours later, to Kyujukuri Beach on the Pacific Ocean side of the Boso Peninsula, the closest I could get to Vancouver on a one-day bike ride. On weekdays going to my old job, I paid for a parking spot midway between home and work, riding the train for 30 minutes, and the bike for another 30 on suburban roads.
You don’t have to lug the bike with you every time. If you are in Tokyo on a Sunday, there are free bike borrows and a short but pleasant route, closed to cars, around the palace. My next route is a bit more ambitious than that. Next holiday I’m off to Kyoto from here. The Shinkansen is faster, but I get more leg room on my ride.
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