A couple of hours ago I bought a new Japanese style bike. a “Bike” in Japanese is called a “Jitensha” (自転車）. Japanese bikes are really expensive, but you’re kinda limited as to where you can go, if you don’t get one. If you’re wondering, I paid 5,000 yen for this bike (~$42) . Here’s the pics of this beauty:

Ok so here’s the specs:

• 2 new white rim tires
• front basket & rear back-pack holder
• Front headlight*
• Solid Frame (Aluminium)
• Rear (back tire lifting) kickstand
• 6 gears w/shimano gripshift system (*new)
• Wrap-around handlebars (made for Japanese)
• Adjustable rear seat
• New Tires and Tubes
• Front self locking bike lock————-L@@K————->

Ok… so check out this bike lock. It hooks to the front fork of the bike and basically has a dead-bolt that you push to lock it. Once locked you take the key out and the front tire is supposedly locked because the bolt stops the spokes. While this is pretty nifty and *feels * like it is locked, I’m not convinced. I’m compelled to go get a separate lock (100 yen) as well, for the back.

In Japan bikes aren’t locked to anything. To lock your bike you basically lock the back tire by putting a lock around the tire and the frame. Theft here is pretty big, but theifs aren’t punk kids looking to get a deal, it’s typically drunk businessmen looking for an unlocked bike so that they can ride home. There’s tons of bikes here so I guess, while they’re expensive, they aren’t THAT hot to steal… that doesn’t stop me from getting a rear lock though. (they’re 100 yen anyway)

*So this front headlight isn’t battery powered instead it has a small generator connected on the front tire so when you start riding the bike, the front headlight comes on. Cool eh? It’s like a magneto for a bicycle light. Crazy… every bike has one here in Japan. Some are more advanced and some are basic like mine, but they’re all pretty much the same. I had to get one because it seems like distance is measured by how long it takes to get from point A to point B by bicycle.

I hope to get the most outta this thing while I’m here. Since I live far from the school I expect to use it often. Feels good to have a little freedom.

~J

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