Seashore and Bicycles

It's hot and humid out here in Kanto area. The cicadas are singing from dawn 'til dusk, loud enough to require avoiding parks to protect my eardrums! We celebrated summer with a trip to my friend's house in Yokosuka: near to the Keikyuu line, but very close to the shore, as well as to plenty of greenery.

One area only a few minutes walk from my friend's apartment had a rice farmer's house at the edge of what is purportedly a haunted forest. The area famously was host to an infectious disease asylum, research facilities, and a nearly abandoned hospital. The land that was used for some of these is now a nature preserve, and I'd like to hike it next time, though hopefully getting back well before dark.

We burned sparklers and launched fireworks along the water, reflecting beautifully in the lapping waves. Because it was so far from the touristy areas like Zushi or Kamakura, or even up by Yokouska-Chou, we had the area to ourselves.

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In other news, I decided that I need a bicycle. Little did I know the level of complexity that I was getting myself into as I began my search. Bicyles in Japan come in many forms, including sports bikes, city bikes, and electric assist bikes, which are especially popular with families with little kids.

My goal was to get a city bike that I could use to carry groceries, but also be able to ride for medium distance outings. However, every place I went to was severely limited by the number of bicycles that could match my height. Now, I know that I'm a pretty tall person: at around 180 cm I'm used to watching my head on low doorframes and the like. However, seeing that I'm well within the normal range of heights in the USA, the fact that there would be nothing that fit me seemed ridiculous.

After some research, I found that while the average height in Japan is lower than in the States, it's only by a few centimeters. While it's common for me to be able to look over the crowd, there also areJapanese people who are my height or even taller, without even considering the significant number of other foreigners or multiracial people living here who also share the genes for height.

Therefore, in addition to being a little larger than average, I think it's a cultural thing. There are many aspects of Japanese culture that run parallel to the idea that there is one standard and any deviation from this is problematic. From the way people dress at work, to school uniforms and restrictions on hair styles and color, to ideas about body weight and fitness, the eye of society is rather strict. This means that even as some of these become more relaxed, options that remain are still limited.

While in the States, a store would absolutely stock at least one bicycle for larger people, even the largest specialty store in Japan only had city bikes aimed at people up to 150 cm. My friend joked that this was a side effect of Japanese efficiency, with companies being unwilling to waste space or manufacturing resources on things outside the norm.

In the end, I ordered a bike through the store that will be a little on the small side, but seems to be comfortable, sturdy, and was within my budget.

The store also featured some unicycles, which seem to be a relatively popular kids toy.