Urban cycling (with fixed gear bike)

5 comments

1. A lot of people enjoy bike in Kyoto because it can offer more flexibility than the bus (and some of them get crowded with tourist). But I’ve seen someone stream his bike ride in Tokyo and that looked pretty cool too. I imagine that both are cool.

   One thing, If you are to use a fixed gear bike, make sure you have breaks. I remember when I was living in Japan in 2011-2012, they were taking about such bikes that were getting trendy, but from what I remember, was not legal. I saw people talking about it on tv, comparing braking distance and such. I am not sure of something in the law prohibit bikes without brakes, I do not remember clearly, but I think you might have problem if you don’t have any.

   Also, check the law to make sure you do the right thing, for you it will mostly be to ride in the street ot the same side as the traffic. You might also check if you bring your own bike as in Japan bike need to be registered, in case police stop you on a unregistered bike, it might be a pain to deal with them, so probably better to have proof of ownership and visit a bike shop or police box to check to register it.

2. Honestly most cities in Japan are great on bike, but Kyoto is particularly nice because it’s mostly flat and there are lots of things within easy cycling distance of each other. Osaka, Nara, and Shiga area also fantastic for cycling and are nearby.

   Again, Tokyo is great for cycling as well, but the city is absolutely massive so you’ll need to break things down a bit and decide which parts of the city you’re most interested in if you’re planning on cycling there. A lot of the western part of the city is also quite hilly, so be aware of that.

3. Tokyo.

   Ive cycled all around japan. I really enjoyed cycling in tokyo. Its so vast and lots of cool things all around. Its also cool to see all the diff types of buildings houses etc.

   Kyoto cycling is better than a bus but kyoto is pretty strict about parking randomly. Ive gotten my bike taken by the city a bunch of times.

   Id also recommend osaka.

4. If you like cycling Hiroshima is fun and then head towards Onomichi for the Shimanami Kaido. I’ve never done it on a fixie but there’s no problems on a 5 speed. A bikes kind of a must in Kyoto as you really need to be up early to get to the better known sights and streets before the crowds get crazy.

5. As Tokyoite who cycles frequently, I cannot recommend cycling in Tokyo because it is dangerous. Especially taxi drivers are crazy that sometimes they ignore cyclists when they cross the road. As most people commented, cycling in Kyoto is better as the road is flat and the night is quieter than in Tokyo.

   One of my recommended spots to cycle is Rin-rin road in Ibaraki. You can take a train from Tokyo and it takes one hour to get there. You will be able to rent a bike and there is even a hotel especially for the cyclist who wants to stay with their bike!