Cycling In Japan

Tonight i wanna talk about cycling. Well, in my point of view, cycling is one of fun ways of exercising to keep our health fit. By cycling you can feel the breeze of the wind against your face while enjoying the scenery.

Unfortunately my town is one of unfriendly places to cycling. There are too many transportation on the road. Too many inpatient drivers. And there is no cycling trail. Though sometimes i see some people ride bicycle on the road, i don't really think it's safe.

But once of every week there is a day called "car-free-day". It's a day which should be no transportation machine on the road. It is. But in fact it's only for 3 hours long and in a (i-can-say-it) short area of the road.

My friend told me that sometimes he cycling back home from kitakyusu to tokushima (if i'm not wrong). It's about 100 km away... Wow... right? If that's me, i'll choose ride shinkansen instead... lol. But to know that he can ride a bicycle that far, there should be lots of comfortable and safe tracks for cycling. I wish i can cycling under the sakura season.. it could be paradise.

By the way i just knew that there are strict rules regarding ride a bicycle in japan such as mention in a site named survivingnjapan, the rules are:

• Riding while carrying an umbrella, listening to an iPod, or talking on the phone are prohibited
• All bikes are required to have a bell and a headlamp (if riding at night) 
• It is illegal to ride tandem bicycle (except in Nagano) 
• Also illegal riding with a passenger (with the exception of a child below the age of six).
• A cyclist may carry one child under the age of six in a designated child seat 
• Children under the age of 13 years must wear a bike helmet 
• Bicycles must be registered in the owner’s name at the prefectural police department
• and so on...

Just remember if you broke one the the rules above you could have to pay  ¥500,000 fine as the penalty. But do not worry, if you are lucky enough you won't meet a strict police. In reality even most of the police often ignored some of those rules above such as listening to music or riding with a passenger. But still you should be more careful. Maybe you need a guide. It could be a great idea if you have couch surfing friends. It can lower your budget too.

Hmmm... that's all i can share tonight... to think that it's a brief share i don't know if that's help you gain more knowledge... lol, still... thanks for reading and if you have more information regarding this topic, i'm waiting for your comment.

Thank you. good night. :3