Sakushima Island

Back to sightseeing posts for a while. Sakushima Island is a bitty island off the coast of mainland Aichi less than an hour from Nagoya. From Ishikki there is a short ferry that leaves every two hours.

Once we had docked and gotten off the ferry, we found a map and rented some bikes to explore the island. The island is 11.5 km round with various inroads and hills to explore. We quickly learned that there are stamps at points of interest so the inner child in me was obviously very excited. Needless to stay, many sudden stops were made when a stamp box was spotted.
 

The island was a picturesque little town and riding bikes on a glorious day was just grand. There were many works of art that were very interesting, even if the deeper meaning was not always comprehended.

I loved seeing this little guy all around the island. He is meant to keeps the sea in check, so be sure to drop a few coins in his palm if you'd like to stay on his good side.

As ever there were a few temples and shrines to visit. These were particularly pretty because of the wooded surroundings and having the sea nearby. 

All in all, a great day trip from Nagoya. It was nice, quiet little town with a lot to see and do and great way to get a bit of exercise on a great day. Here are a few more pictures of the town for your enjoyment. Cheers!  

 

Jitenshas!

I'm going to speak briefly on travelling by car because there isn't too much special about it. The three biggest differences from driving in America:

1. Right hand driving and smaller roads are two things to really be aware of. So drive slowly and carefully.
2. Gas is more expensive and most of the bigger highways are toll roads so keep that in mind when planning your journey. For one person, it can be cheaper and easier to ride public transportation.
3. Any accident you get into has to be reported to your company, no matter how small. So I reiterate, drive carefully. Make sure you read all the driving manuals before you travel.

On to what I'm more excited to talk about - jitenshas!

Bikes are very useful inside cities for getting around, because you have a lot more mobility and freedom. The small roads as I mentioned above are often crowded for cars and parking can be tough to find in busy places, so using a bicycle often a useful alternative. The roads and sidewalks accomodate bikes quite well and both drivers and pedestrians are aware that a bike could show up out of nowhere. That being said, they really do show up out of nowhere. While in America it is common courtesy to shout out 'on your left/right' or 'behind you' when you want to manuever around a pedestrian, the Japanese are simply too nice for that. They just try to quietly predict your movement and ride around you. Only problem is that if you make any sudden deviation out of your walking path, you might get in their way without knowing it.

It seems like cities in Japan really encourage the use of bicycles, so there is bicycle parking everywhere. Just around Kariya station there are three different bicycle parking areas and they are all free. Many people will bike to the station to begin their morning commutes on other public transportation. There are also many rental-a-cycle places both in touristy cities and even in residential cities, like Kariya.

The most common type of bicycle has the little basket in front. You'll see these a lot because bicycles are generally not used just for recreation. The basket in front is used to carry groceries and backpacks and other things that need to be transported.

Also novel to Japan is the collapsible bicycle. Bicycle shown below is made by Dahon company. I have never ridden one though I think the structural stability of the frame is probably a bit precarious, so I'd be bit wary of that.

Graphic from dahonfoldingbike.co.uk

Final note about transportation, there is always walking. I really enjoy walking around Kariya, I can get to the grocery store, my Japanese class, the post office all on foot. Only bigger malls are farther away. There are sidewalks everywhere, and if not there are walking lanes and crosswalks drawn on the smaller roads.   

That's all folks. A small introduction into transportation in Japan. More posts soon.