The future of the human race

Bicycles are ubiquitous in Kyoto. I am told that this is not the case in other parts of Japan - Tokyo, for example, is far too big a sprawling - but Kyoto is sufficiently small and sufficiently flat that bicycling is a great option for getting around. Many people use them for transportation here. Students, of course, but also working people, housewives out on shopping trips, and grannies going to visit friends.


Out shopping

Indeed, since Ted semi-permanently lent me one of his many bikes a few weeks ago, I have not only happily cut down my commute to 10 minutes, but have also been exploring farther afield with the increased operational radius that a bike offers.


My bike, on loan from Ted for The Duration. And it is appropriately named!

Now, the bikes here are not anything fancy - the vast majority are simple one-speed models, sufficient for going slowly from A to B. Once in a while one sees a mountain bike, but as often as not one then sees that it's being ridden by a gaijn. And I don't think I have seen a racing road bike yet. But all this only emphasizes what people use bikes for here in Kyoto, and that is a simple, inexpensive, and convenient mode of transportation rather than a feel-good hobby.

There are thousands upon thousands of inexpensive bikes resting all over the place, secured only with the flimsiest of locks. As a friend once pointed out, it would be trivially simple to start a highly profitable bicycle "export" business: all one needs is a large truck and a few hours of darkness. But, this being Japan, bicycles usually stay where one has left them. The local "entrepreneurs" apparently have far more profitable things to do.

All one needs is a truck and a few hours of darkness...

Now, as for rules of the road, bicycles are great: in a nutshell, traffic laws don't seem to apply to them. It is perfectly legal to ride your bike on the street, or on the sidewalk. If you are on the sidewalk, you are considered a pedestrian, and if you are on the street you are a vehicle. Most people in fact weave back and forth between street and sidewalk as they are riding along, all depending on the conditions immediately ahead. If you see a gaggle of drunken sararimen blocking the road you will quickly nip onto the sidewalk, but when immediately up ahead you spot the pedestrian crossing-light turning red you will go back on the street to take advantage of the longer-lasting green light that cars seem to get. Now, all this flexibility comes with a price, and that is the need to pay constant attention. When on the sidewalk and approaching another cyclist it is never clear until the last second whether you will pass each other on the right or on the left. Ditto for pedestrians, of course. And it is quite common to see a cyclist cycling up the street, going on the wrong side of the road up against car traffic.

On the sidewalk.
From the sidewalk into the traffic.
And if it were raining, she'd have an umbrella instead.

And yet, despite all this seeming death-courting, I have never seen a single traffic accident here. I think the reason for this is simple: cyclists are so much part of life in Kyoto that both drivers and pedestrians are very used to dealing with them and their peculiarities.

Oh, and the title? The title is from H.G. Wells: "Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race."

The future of the human race

Bicycles are ubiquitous in Kyoto. I am told that this is not the case in other parts of Japan - Tokyo, for example, is far too big a sprawling - but Kyoto is sufficiently small and sufficiently flat that bicycling is a great option for getting around. Many people use them for transportation here. Students, of course, but also working people, housewives out on shopping trips, and grannies going to visit friends.


Out shopping

Indeed, since Ted semi-permanently lent me one of his many bikes a few weeks ago, I have not only happily cut down my commute to 10 minutes, but have also been exploring farther afield with the increased operational radius that a bike offers.


My bike, on loan from Ted for The Duration. And it is appropriately named!

Now, the bikes here are not anything fancy - the vast majority are simple one-speed models, sufficient for going slowly from A to B. Once in a while one sees a mountain bike, but as often as not one then sees that it's being ridden by a gaijn. And I don't think I have seen a racing road bike yet. But all this only emphasizes what people use bikes for here in Kyoto, and that is a simple, inexpensive, and convenient mode of transportation rather than a feel-good hobby.

There are thousands upon thousands of inexpensive bikes resting all over the place, secured only with the flimsiest of locks. As a friend once pointed out, it would be trivially simple to start a highly profitable bicycle "export" business: all one needs is a large truck and a few hours of darkness. But, this being Japan, bicycles usually stay where one has left them. The local "entrepreneurs" apparently have far more profitable things to do.

All one needs is a truck and a few hours of darkness...

Now, as for rules of the road, bicycles are great: in a nutshell, traffic laws don't seem to apply to them. It is perfectly legal to ride your bike on the street, or on the sidewalk. If you are on the sidewalk, you are considered a pedestrian, and if you are on the street you are a vehicle. Most people in fact weave back and forth between street and sidewalk as they are riding along, all depending on the conditions immediately ahead. If you see a gaggle of drunken sararimen blocking the road you will quickly nip onto the sidewalk, but when immediately up ahead you spot the pedestrian crossing-light turning red you will go back on the street to take advantage of the longer-lasting green light that cars seem to get. Now, all this flexibility comes with a price, and that is the need to pay constant attention. When on the sidewalk and approaching another cyclist it is never clear until the last second whether you will pass each other on the right or on the left. Ditto for pedestrians, of course. And it is quite common to see a cyclist cycling up the street, going on the wrong side of the road up against car traffic.

On the sidewalk.
From the sidewalk into the traffic.
And if it were raining, she'd have an umbrella instead.

And yet, despite all this seeming death-courting, I have never seen a single traffic accident here. I think the reason for this is simple: cyclists are so much part of life in Kyoto that both drivers and pedestrians are very used to dealing with them and their peculiarities.

Oh, and the title? The title is from H.G. Wells: "Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race."