Ride On in Osaka

I love Osaka since it’s the bike capital of Japan. I was in Osaka in 2008 for my youngest brother’s wedding, and I really enjoyed seeing that cycling was just part of daily life. Me being a daily rider here in Vancouver, it was nice to see my Asian brothers and sisters were also my Asian cycling brothers and sisters……I have awesome bike pictures from Tokyo as well, but I’ll post those some other day…….

Even cool guys ride bikes in Osaka…..
Although it’s illegal, many double…. in fact, my brother and his wife and their friends even go drinking on bike, everyone doubling each other while they hop from restaurant to bar to bar…. it gets funny at the end of the night when everyone’s had a few……..
As I just mentioned, late night food and drink establishments are often filled with cyclists…. see, no cars in sight….. these are usually local watering holes that most either walk to or bike to….
It’s nothing out of the ordinary to see police on bikes in Japan…… over here, bike cops look less cop-like, since they dress more like cyclists than police…… look, no shorts or helmets for Japanese bike police…..
This is early morning in the central Umeda area of Osaka, where there’s a lot of bars and restaurants. As you can see, most places are still closed…… this guy is either coming home from late drinking, going to work early, or going straight from the bar directly to work….. no kidding….
This is also not an unusual sight……..they do everything but eat while riding in Japan, as you’ll soon see……..
I think these guys were just riding around town as moving billboards, although I don’t know what they were advertising…. it says children 110Yen, so maybe daycare? I feel for these guys though…. look at those hats!!
In North America, it’s soccer moms in mini-vans. In Japan, it’s mom’s on two wheels towing a single child in the back, or sometimes 2 children, both front and rear…… for real!!
When you say you have a Hummer in Japan, it means something totally different than over here….
Phoning while riding is very common in Japan……….
Texting is also very popular…. funny, I’ve never seen a bike accident though……..the Japanese are very skilled……..
Japanese girls love to wear stockings…….I wonder why she doesn’t use her basket in the front, instead of leaving flyers inside it…..who transports junk flyers?
I love this picture, and I left it for last. Notice that everyone bikes to 7-11…. only a single car to the far left…….

Baby Strollers in Full Force in Tokyo

Even just two years ago, you would rarely see baby strollers in busy parts of Tokyo. Maybe at a park or in the suburbs, but never on the Yamanote-sen during rush hour or in the middle of Seibu department store during the week. But in the last two years, I guess it’s become more acceptable and almost trendy to have baby strollers, because now they’re everywhere. In a place as tight and narrow as Japan, this can cause logistical issues, but I’m not to judge. The Japanese will always find a way to make it work……

I took this picture walking along an alley in Roppongi Hills area. I think it was a daycare centre, and all these baby strollers are parked like cars downstairs at the entrance of the garage…. I thought it looked pretty cute.

Another iPhone picture…….

How Do You Park Your Bike?

While waiting for my wife while she shopped, I thought I’d walk up and down Robson Street to see if there was anything interesting to shoot.  I noticed a locked up bike against a pole, but it was parked upside-down! What the? Just as I was about to take a picture of it, the owner appeared!  I asked him why he parked his bike that way? He said so his bike doesn’t move around clumsily or fall over….. good idea!!  Who needs a kick-stand right? 

The only problem is scratching the leather seat and handlebar grips…… but hey, with a smile like that, does Kwan care about a few scuffs on his sweet fixie? Where’s his bike from? Built by his buddy’s over at Beats and Bikes. Music and bikes. Nice combo……