Features

Biking in Tokyo is not as bad as you’d think. Yes, it’s an extremely hectic, densely packed place – the metro area being roughly the population of California squeezed into the area of Hawaii. But when I visited this winter, I found the world’s most populous mega-city to be a surprisingly comfortable and friendly place to pedal.

The Tokyo transportation mix includes lots of everything. Sure, the streets are clogged with cars, but there’s also a terrific metro system that’s ubiquitous, fast, clean and gaijin or “foreigner”-friendly with signage and announcements in English as well as Japanese. And when the simultaneous four-way “pedestrian scramble” walk signals activate next to busy Shibuya Station, the resulting swarm would warm the heart of any ped planner.

There’s also tons of jitensha (“bicycles”), evidenced by vast bike lots at suburban train stations, Kasai Station’s Cycle Tree – an automated underground parking system with space for 6,480 vehicles – and the dozen or so bicycles parked curb-side on every other block. Thanks to the city’s low theft rate, most people simply put down their kickstand and free-lock.

Mama-chari (“Mama bikes”) rule the streets, or rather sidewalks, of Tokyo. These sensible commuter cycles are usually single or three speed, fully accessorized and often equipped with a shopping basket in front and a child seat in back. In the temperate winter weather, young adults on mama-chari sporting smart Anglophile fashions – men in Burberry jackets, slacks and scarves, women in peacoats, skirts and knee-high boots – are a common sight.

Wanting to get in on the action, I hired a six-speed cruiser for $9 USD a day from Tokyo Rent A Bike, near Nakameguro Station. It’s generally legal to ride on the wide sidewalks, and this is where you see most cyclists rolling at slow speeds. But I found slaloming around pedestrians to be stressful, so I soon took to the streets.

Cars drive on the left-hand side of the road in Japan and, recalling a UK vacation where my dad destroyed several mailboxes while learning to drive on the left, I worried I’d make a deadly mistake. But bicycling in the street felt surprisingly safe, the main difference being left turns were now easier to execute than right turns. And motorists drove at moderate speeds and with courtesy – I heard almost no horns.

Navigation was the biggest challenge since there’s no grid, many streets are unnamed and buildings are identified by seemingly random block numbers rather than street addresses. Using a street atlas, I was able to locate a few of the many bike stores recommended by friends from Chicago. They came to Tokyo in September for the Cycle Messenger World Championships, which drew hundreds of couriers from around the globe.

F.I.G. Bike near Harajuku Station is a spacious store selling multicolored fixies and BMX bicycles, plus stylish city bikes like the Vivo Bellisimo and UTB Picnic. Downstairs, there’s cool clothing by the local brand PEdAL.E.D., wallets made from recycled inner tubes and leather messenger bags with magnetic closures.