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bicycles (Page 3)

The famous hospitality of Japan’s old capital is being put to intimidating use to combat inconsiderateness outside this building.

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Watch out for bicycling deer?! Strange traffic sign confuses and inspires Japanese Twitter

Can the internet hivemind can figure out what this sign means?

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Tokyo may soon require bicyclists to strap on a helmet before getting on the road

After 11,000 bike accidents last year, the Tokyo metropolitan government is considering new safety regulations.

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7 odd behaviors in Japan as seen by Chinese tourists

Last year about 5 million Chinese tourists visited Japan, and Chinese website NetEase was kind enough to compile a list of seven of Japan’s most unusual habits according to them.

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Video of a man riding a bicycle made to look like a white horse is both beautiful and bizarre

Why is this young man riding the horse bicycle around Bangkok? We have no idea, but we can’t stop watching this video!

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New Japanese biking laws say no more earphones in ears…but what about other orifices?

A few days ago, we brought you a list of 14 things never to do on a bicycle in Japan in light of new cycling traffic laws that went into effect on June 1. Of course, the new, stricter laws are intended to promote bicycle safety and reduce accidents, but they mean a lot of cyclists in Japan are going to have to give up on some of their old bad habits, like riding while listening to music.

There’s a little speculation that riding with headphones in but no music on, and riding with just one earpiece in (although that sounds to us like a recipe for disaster when the other dangling earbud inevitably gets caught in your spokes) are probably not going to get you jail time or anything, but we like to play it safe here at RocketNews24, at least until happy hour rolls around.

So, when one of our Japanese writers – a noted music lover – was pondering other ways to get his music fix while commuting by bike, he stumbled on what seemed like an easy solution: If the law says you can’t ride with earbuds in your ears, well, just shove those suckers right up your schnoz. It’s so simple it just has to work!

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No more earphones while cycling in Japan? Well, how about nipplephones?

As you probably know, bicycles are an incredibly common method of transportation in Japan. They’ve also been a source of many accidents in the country, and police have taken an increasingly strict approach to dealing with law-breaking cyclists. New rules have recently been implemented to keep the country’s streets from turning into a crazy, Mad Max-esque bicycle dystopia, and one that’s really got people’s attention is a prohibition on earphones/headphones while cycling.

The exact rule and punishment seems to vary from location to location, but wearing earphones in both ears is sure to get you at least a warning, and in some places, Tokyo included, even just one ear is now against the law. But, one of our intrepid RocketNews24 Japan writers thought, what about earphones on your nipples?

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14 things never to do on a bicycle in Japan with new traffic laws

There’s no shortage of people doing out of the ordinary things on bikes in Japan. It’s not uncommon to see people riding while holding umbrellas, having their whole bikes covered in a parka, using a walking bicycle, or even a bicycle specifically made for wearing a kimono.

But the golden era of crazy Japan cycling may have come to an end. As of June 2015, a set of 14 laws have been passed nationwide to enforce safe and correct use of bicycles. If you plan on riding a two-wheeled foot-powered vehicle in Japan, then you may want to check them over to make sure that you don’t end up having to pay a hefty fine.

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The greatest “no parking” sign ever made

To many environmentalists, a city where most people get around by public transportation and bicycles may seem like a dream, but it’s also not without its share of daily nuisances.

The person who originally tweeted the above photo had said, “The area around this building is very tight due to illegally parked bikes… After I open shop I put out this sign and bikes don’t park here any more.” Over 15,000 Twitter users have agreed and called this the greatest “no parking” sign ever made.

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Walking Bicycle Club looks to change the way we ride, angers internet with promotional video

Not a whole lot has changed since the development of the bicycle around two centuries ago. Near the end of the 19th century we moved away from those bicycles with the absurdly large front wheel and that seemed to be enough.

Sure there have been massive strides in performance technology and certain novel variations such as the recumbent and tandem bikes, but the fundamentals were pretty much kept intact. Now, a Japanese group has come up with a revolutionary redesign of the bicycle which they hope brings joy to riders and all who are around them. Unfortunately many who saw the commercial for it felt the opposite.

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Tokyo’s new rentable bikes are a great start, but the city is still far from bike-friendly…

Close your eyes and throw a stick in pretty much any Tokyo neighbourhood, and there’s a good chance that you’ll hit someone riding a bicycle. With roughly 72 million bikes on the streets of Japan, they’re an essential part of daily life for many, especially in urban areas where space for motor vehicle parking is both limited and expensive.

Last weekend, though, we stumbled upon a fleet of sparkling new bicycles that couldn’t be more different to the typical mamachari shopping bikes that everyone from junior high schoolers to worryingly wobbly grandmothers pedal around town. Sleek, compact, and with”Suicle” stamped on their crossbars, these lime-green lightweights are available for anyone with a prepaid IC bus or rail card and a half-decent sense of balance to rent.

Eager to know if the ride, and the process of renting and returning, was as smooth as a nearby sign purported it to be, we took a couple of the mini bikes out for a spin.

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Cyclist in Tokyo ordered to pay $459,000 after collision leaves 74-year-old woman dead

A Tokyo court has ruled that a cyclist must pay 47 million yen (US$459,000) to the family of a 75-year-old women he collided with and killed in 2010.

The pensioner, one Mrs. Mitsuhiro Azuma, was struck by the cyclist on a pedestrian crossing in Tokyo’s Ota Ward after he ignored a red light. The court heard that Mrs. Azuma suffered a head wound when she was knocked to the ground, from which she died five days later.

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