I thought that the sidewalks were quite wide on the major streets until I realized that they were shared with cyclists who weave their way through the pedestrian traffic. The ones with the umbrella poking out in front of the basket remind me of a knight on a horse with a lance. I wonder if pedestrians ever get skewered? The degree of wobble tended to follow the age of the cyclist but there were exceptions. There are many cyclists and so far I have not seen 1 helmet. I did see 1 bike with a light.
Most of the bikes that I saw are what I would call town bikes, with step through frames, (these were called girls bikes when I was a kid) fenders, chain guards, built in locks and slow steering geometry. Most were single speeds (Tokyo is pretty flat) although there were some internally geared hubs and many had a front calliper brake and rear drum brake both activated by handlebar levers. I didn’t think to check if the levers are British or American which tend to the opposite sides for front and rear. I didn’t see any mountain (suspension) bikes and only a few racing bikes. No fixies either. Is Tokyo not cool when it comes to bikes? ; ^ )
One other odd 2 wheeled thing that I noticed was scooters that have an elongated look and really fat tires. A scooter on steroids? I have never seen anything like it. Hopefully I’ll see one stopped and get a photo.
