Cycling in and around Tokyo

A few weeks back, I travelled to Japan - it's been my first trip to an Asian country as well as seeing good old friends from my Liverpool days. I decided to bring a bike to explore Tokyo and surroundings on 2 wheels. Here's what I discovered on the way...

Tokyo is a great city to get around on 2 wheels. Instead of squeezing into overcrowded subway cars, you can get around considerably comfortable by bike. Tokyo has a few hills, but nothing a singlespeed can't climb. Bike lanes pretty much don't exist, and while most locals decided to ride on sidewalks, I tried to stick with street traffic.

I stayed in Shinjuku and started my daily tours from there. It was early November and for the most part, it was dry and sunny. One peculiar thing I have never seen anywhere else: You have to be very careful where to lock your bike. Not that it is dangerous, but many streets prohibit bicycle parking. There are dedicated parking areas to lock up bikes, as to keep sidewalks clean. Kyoto in particularl enforces strict rules about bicycles. The entire inner city of Kyoto does not allow for bicycle parking, while cars can still be parked alongside streets. Bikes parked in the wrong area get a parking ticket or will be removed.

When taking a bike on the train or subway, it needs to be partially disassembled (at least the front wheel) and covered in a bike bag. I picked up an Ostrich bag at a local dealer.

Here are some photos I took during the trip to Tokyo, Nara and Kyoto.

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