By: james-lorene@xtra.co.nz
10/08/2008
8:54 am Yahoo! Profile:
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| my partner is up in Tokyo playing rugby and our daughter and I have just been up to have a look around and I must say Ive never felt safer riding bikes on the road. Our daughter would sit on the front of James bike and we would ride everywhere amongst the traffic. Cars give way to you and bikes generally give way to pedestrians. I cant wait until we move up there because its wonderful to be in such a safe, friendly environment |
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By: james-lorene@xtra.co.nz
10/08/2008
8:53 am Yahoo! Profile:
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| my partner is up in Tokyo playing rugby and our daughter and I have just been up to have a look around and I must say Ive never felt safer riding bikes on the road. Our daughter would sit on the front of James bike and we would ride everywhere amongst the traffic. Cars give way to you and bikes generally give way to pedestrians. I cant wait until we move up there because its wonderful to be in such a safe, friendly environment |
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By: danforbes@xtra.co.nz
27/03/2008
7:30 pm Yahoo! Profile:
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| Got close to Angkor Wot but due to the problems in the region at the time it was not safe. Never mind another day, on my list too. |
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By: stonehook@xtra.co.nz
27/03/2008
4:28 pm Yahoo! Profile:
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| Machu Picchu and Angkor Wot are on my list. |
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By: danforbes@xtra.co.nz
26/03/2008
8:41 pm Yahoo! Profile:
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Amazing story. I had a similar experience of a person going way out of their way for me in Cairo. Plane landed at dawn first thing I wanted to do like the big kid I am is get to Gizza Plateau to see the Pyramids. Wandered past a group of uni students asked how to get their and one of them shows me the bus to get one but then decides it maybe best if he went along just in case I got off in the wrong spot. A twenty kilometer bus trip one way. Shows me the stop to get off then gets on the next bus back into Cairo. Learnt very fast the Arabic custom of extending hospitality to strangers is very important in their culture.
Amazing the Japanese who are so reserved seem to have a similar philosophy in their culture.
Makes me want to go to Japan even more. But first I want to see Machu Pichu. It is on my must do list before I croak. |
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By: stonehook@xtra.co.nz
26/03/2008
8:28 pm Yahoo! Profile:
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| Was biking along in a small town heading for Kyoto and this guy pulls along side me in all the triathelete gear and in good English, asked me where i was going, he then said you come home to my place for lunch, well we headed off to his place and he introduced me to his wife, inside this nice house that they owned, to cut a long story short i ate with them for 2 hours eating AMAZING food and he then biked with me to show me this scenic route around a lake,with his 2 little boys biking with us till we said goodbye. It was all out of the blue and that is usually the best experience, just blew me away |
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By: danforbes@xtra.co.nz
26/03/2008
7:49 pm Yahoo! Profile:
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My father ws in the Pacific campaign though he never said anything against the Japanese I feel he didn't like them as a result of his experience.
I remember bumping into a guy who started up a business in Japan and he was also amazed at the honesty level of the Japanese. Did all his business on a handshake no need for written contracts found they always did as promised never had any problems. |
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By: stonehook@xtra.co.nz
26/03/2008
4:32 pm Yahoo! Profile:
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Our lenient laws certainly don,t help things.
Fantastic Culture and the people are great, so polite and trusting,,
e.g. i went into a supermarket in a smaller town one day and left my bike with my gear on it {except passport and money} and nobody goes near it, no way you could do that here.
My parents had a different view of the Japanese but there was a reason for that and a different era.
I never felt unsafe at all and the people were so helpful, especially when you are on a bike as they identify with that and it,s almost like your one of them. Biking is not everybody,s cup of tea , even alternate travel i would recommend as it,s easy to get around, as i said i,d love to go back sometime. |
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By: danforbes@xtra.co.nz
26/03/2008
3:18 pm Yahoo! Profile:
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The secret of teaching people to respect others on the road or elsewhere is of course heavy penalties for transgressions. As you mention in Japan the heavy fines here a person can kill someone on the road in a total act of stupidity and probably not spend a day in gaol.
By the way I envy you your trip to Japan. Would love to go there as I find their culture, buildings and gardens absolutely amazing but outside my budget for the forseeable future. |
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By: stonehook@xtra.co.nz
25/03/2008
5:35 pm Yahoo! Profile:
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| yeah dan, Japan is amazingly safe even though there are heaps of vehicles they cater for cyclists with plenty of tracks which in a lot of places you share with pedestrians, them on the shop side and bikes on the road side of the pavement. The Japanese are on to it and i suppose because of the density of people it works surprisingly well. This wouldn,t work in nz because we,re too self obssesed and arrogant. The roads are ok because there are real heavy fines for any motorist endangering a cyclist, besides on the way out of cities it,s tracked a fair way out. NZ is generally a nightmare, the motorists are just plain dumb or half asleep. |
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By: danforbes@xtra.co.nz
24/03/2008
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| Good God you mean there is a country out there where the drivers are not intentionally out to kill cyclists? I use to cycle years agao both in NZ and OZ. I had to give up before I was killed. I lost count of the number of close calls and was knocked off on many occasions. |
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By: stonehook@xtra.co.nz
5/03/2008
7:04 pm Yahoo! Profile:
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| Did a cycling trip around central Japan back in 1994 and it was bloody great, landed in Tokyo got the Shinkanzen( bullet train) to Nagoya then biked down the coast Isai shima, over some nice hills/mountains via Osaka to Kobe, then in towards Kyoto, then eventually back to Nagoya, really nice trip , stayed in youth hostels and Business Hotels when i couldn,t find a YHA. Realy nice scenery when you are on the smaller roads and the Japanese are very courtious to cyclists, not like the phsyco loonies we have here in cars. Felt safe all the time and the food is tops, would love to do it again, but with loads more Yen. |
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