parking
From
a typical American point-of-view the word parking is unanimously
associated with the automobile. There are parking lots, parking
garages, parking decks, parking spaces, and no-parking zones.
In Japan, parking is not just for cars neither are the traffic lanes nor the traffic signals. In this Asian country, the bicycle with all its forms and styles in some cases rules the road and in others shares it with its four-wheeled cousin, the car.
You just can't run into
the local hardware store or sports shop over here. You have to go to
a show room. This is a place where the bicycles are shines, in a
rainbow of colors, have sticker prices and options. You can have
that bike fully loaded with the very best cushion and springs for your
butt, or the bare essentials with a front light and reflectors. Here
there are three-seaters bicycles: mom and dad pedal and one kids
upfront while the other is in back, they have bikes that fold up so they
can be carried one-handed on the train. I've seen bikes with radios
and fog lamps. Most come with one or two baskets, some with side
mirrors.
I never thought I would see the day that I would bicycle to work and enjoy it. Every morning I hope on my two-wheel transport and outrace sports cars and SUVs stuck in traffic, dodge giggling packs of Elementary school school students, run red lights, and burn rubber on brick sidewalks. As I pedal, I leave behind all the worries of lesson plans, to-do items, and the daily stress of life in a country where "stress" is so prevalent that it is a normal aspect of being Japanese.
Yet, there's no heaven
without hell and there detriments to owning a bicycle. There's the
one-in-four chances that you will be hit by a car or semi-truck. In
Chiba City and I suspect elsewhere, there are bicycle Nazis. If you
park your bike outside a bicycle parking zone, these over 60 year old men
scream at you as though you've slandered the Emperor.
You might park your
bicycle near the train station, go on a short ride, come back and find
your bicycle missing. Don't call the polices, they won't believe you
because "Japan is a safe country; no one steals here." Except for
the Chiba City government. If your bike, like my bike was impounded
and it will take a $22.00 and a trip to a football field sized outdoor
garage where your bike has been held for ransom.
All-in-all. I've had one accident wherein I fell off the bike without anyone's help. I've gotten lost for hours, had my brakes go out, scared old women with their grocery and almost his a dog. I've enjoyed biking in the rain, skidding in the snow, pushing through heavy winds, and treading through rain. Bicycles would be perfect...if only they came with seat belts.
