What's new

Article Seven reasons to cycle in japan

Can't argue with any of the seven reason he brings up why cycling in Japan is so good :D
 
Great reasons and perhaps the reason people like me fall back in love with cycling after they get here
 
All those reasons are why I am coming to Japan for my 3 week bike tour in October! I actually think it's cheaper than Europe and off the beaten path. When I was here last time in 2010, we encountered about 3 to 4 other touring cyclists during the 20 days on the road.
 
8. You get tan-lines in a single day rather than back in the UK when it takes the whole summer if you are lucky.
 
A couple of reasons that cycle touring hasn't taken off in Japan as in France or Italy are the brutally hot and humid summers and the high levels of rain. When I checked the World Weather Information Service web site here, I was able to calculate the mean total rainfall for the following cities:

Tokyo: 1528.8 mm per year Link to Data for Tokyo

Vancouver: 1199.2 mm per year Link to Data for Vancouver

London: 557.5 mm per year Link to Data for London

I was surprised to see that Tokyo had 27% more rain than Vancouver which most inhabitants here consider to be rather wet. I guess all that onsen water has to come from somewhere.
 
The numbers don't really represent the whole story. A lot of that rainfall arrives in tremendous, intense downpours during an fairly short period of time; i.e. rainy season in late June/early July and typhoon season in September. The number of rainy days outside of those two periods is quite small.
You're right about the hot and humid summer though. I hate hate hate it to the very core of my being. (But I still head out on the road....)
AW.
 
I have to agree with AlanW. In England, for example, it seems to be constantly raining, not a whole lot but it is coming down all the time. Here it just whacks it down, BOOM! Then goes away. When it rains here it really rains an awful amount but the number of rainy days are few and far between compared to good old Blighty.

People rarely even carry umbrellas back home. In fact, I didn't own one until I reached these shores and now I have lost count of the number I have had in my possession in the years I have been here.

The stats don't tell the whole story, as is often the case.
 
Exactly the same here; never used an umbrella til I came to Japan.

Also, I had never seen rain as heavy as we get it here, back in England. The first time I experienced the rainy season, I got really excited and wanted to go running around in it! Was amazing.
 
Another 7 reasons:
- October, November, December, January, February, March, April!

London mean monthly sunshine hours in June: 181
Tokyo mean monthly sunshine hours in January: 175
 
Tokyo summer and physical exercise are a difficult match, and luckily I can usually avoid the rush hour; but I actually enjoy the hot, humid summers. We've never used the air conditioner much (and indeed lived without one for years), and I wonder if minimizing air conditioning indoors might help tolerance of heat outdoors.
 
Tokyo summer and physical exercise are a difficult match, and luckily I can usually avoid the rush hour; but I actually enjoy the hot, humid summers. We've never used the air conditioner much (and indeed lived without one for years), and I wonder if minimizing air conditioning indoors might help tolerance of heat outdoors.

In the big heat of the summer I go out early, 90 min or so, getting back by about 6:30-7:00, give or take.

Shower, breakfast, or breakfast, shower, and then on to work in the car, and yes, with the a/c on.
 
Back
Top Bottom