Japan's Bicycle Theme Park

I had the pleasure to go to a bicycle theme park the other week.  I decided to make a video about it.  Enjoy!

It was a blast!

Hit by a car in Japan AND other things

This past monday I had the joyous experience of getting into a cycling accident over here in Japan.  There are so many details that I want to get into but for now, that must wait.  It came at the worst time too.

If you have been following my work for the past six weeks or so, I have been posting constantly once every Wednesday.  I got up to begin work on the WAR MUSEUM episode and then, well, I just got lazy.  I decided to not work on it that week and instead save it for next week.  

The problem is, a lot happened rather quickly.  I had to move out of my apartment (which I will get to later) and I got hit by a car.  I'm going to have some time off this weekend and will aim to get that war museum episode done.  There is a lot that I want to say.  I want it to be a meaningful episode and cut corners.

Sorry, there are just a collection of thoughts right now.  It's about one-forty in the morning.  I should be asleep but I felt like I just need to update a little.

Once I am settled in my new place, I will get to work.  I don't have much money so it looks like I will be once again stuck where I am at for a while.  At least I have friends.

Hit by a BUS

The other day, I had the unfortunate position to be a teacher (who cares a lot about their students) and see one of their students sprawled out on the concrete. They were hit by a bus. I was about five minutes to late to witness the incident. How the student was hit by the bus, was broken down rather quickly in the course of a few hours. A flier was distributed to all the schools in the area. I broke it down in my head and was fairly close to how the situation occurred. I was there, I saw the damage on the bus, and the student on the ground.

The student was traveling with traffic. They decided to cross the street but not at an intersection. This is fairly common in Japan. The problem was their view was obstructed by a large truck. As they went into oncoming traffic, a LARGE BUS came into view and they were stuck. No time for either to react.

I came along just a few minutes after the incident. I felt sick to my stomach and couldn't stay for long. I asked one of my students who it was and they told me. The sad thing is, I have the hardest time trying to remember everyone I work with. I know most people by their face only. I can't read everyone's name because it's all Kanji and kanji can differ considerably with the Kanji it follows.

Luckily the student didn't die. They wound up with a broken back. Which is going to take forever to recover from. I know from personal experience that hospital life is NOT FUN (Although I do enjoy hospital food). I'll see if there is anything I can do to get the student in higher spirits.

-jerry

I want a bike

Last Saturday I met up with a bunch of locals who seriously enjoy their bikes. What they prefer to ride are 'fixed gear' bikes. What this means, is that you are constantly peddling. You also break with your legs, not a handbreak. Though I don't like this concept entirely, I do like the designs they create and the idea of a single speed bicycle.

For the past few months I have been on the fence about getting a car. The advantage it would have, is getting around in horrible conditions. If it's really cold outside, riding a bike would be troublesome. This disadvantage is all the money I would have to put into a car. Even though I just recently obtained my license, having a car would be very troublesome.

At the event I was at this past weekend, we rode out to a beautiful park. This place was around 20km from my house. I rode there on my cheesy little grandma bike. If I had been on a quicker bike this wouldn't have been an issue. Regardless, I was at the park for over three hours. Then came the ride back, which actually was a race. Some of the Japanese that went to this event, drove there and pulled their bikes from out of their cars. When we were to leave, everyone was to meet back in Otawara at the local bike shop. The people in cars were also racing.

It was extremely surprising to see, that; on a bike not meant for speed, I was able to cover the same distance as a car, in an equal amount of time. Speeds for cars on local roads top out at 50km/hr. There are a ridiculous amount of unnecessary stop lights. That are either too short or to long and don't allow you your chance to pass through them in enough time (a topic I will cover later).

Basically driving a car can be a huge hassle and a drag. This occasion isn't the first time I have arrived at a destination sooner than a person in a car. Essentially, cars have the speed advantage only when its super country bumkin roads or night time. Aside from that, they don't have an upper hand.

If I were to purchase a nice fast bicycle (to get around town over my slow bike), I could ride it at around 30-40km/hr. That is the same speed that most traffic moves around here. I would also have the advantage of not paying taxes on it, money for gas, and shaken (routine maintenance required by the government). Essentially, the cost of a car would be continual and never end. A bicycle would still have costs but since maintenance on a bike is much cheaper, it would be less noticeable.

For me to really debate if I want a car or not, should be based much more in line with 'how long do I want to stay here?' I can can get a cheap car, put money into it, and use it but if I'm here for a short time, it's a waste of money. With a bike, I can at least ship it stateside.

I'll keep you posted on the bicycle drama later.

A bunch of Japanese guys playing a fun game on their bikes. At first it started out small then eventually there were around forty people playing.

Recycled Bikes

Moving to Japan requires a little bit of money. I broke the bank getting over here. Then I racked up some credit card debt, just to stay a float (something I am not happy about). For the past few months, I have been finding different ways to spend money on necessary items, on a small budget.

One of these ways is to purchase items used. A few weeks into living here, I saw a giant lot where people were bringing in bikes, washers, dryers, etc... It was a recycle center. I decided to find out if I could take a bike off of there hands. Luckily, I was able to. I purchased a working bike at a fraction of the cost of a new one.

It has a few rust spots, some dings, and dents but overall works just as good as any other bike. This same bike, new, would cost somewhere around $150. People buy these bikes frequently and is the most common one you'll see. Its known as a 'Mama Chari' which means 'mama chariot'.

Growing up, I never wanted to buy anything used. Something inside of me thought it was bad. Then I had to get by on my own money. Can you guess who was hitting up Goodwill frequently?

When you buy anything used here, it has a much higher quality to it. Either the Japanese take care of there goods really well or they are continually getting new items and tossing out the old. Regardless, one mans trash is another mans treasure.

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