Dinner view..
We are now on the Romancercar train back to Tokyo.. we followed our friends lead and turned the seat around. It was worth it so we could have a view of Mt Fuji as we ate our bento. Everyone wants to see Mt Fuji!
Friends
Thank-you non Brompton friends…
When visiting Tokyo, we always catch up with our ‘non-Brompton owning’ friends – who we’ve known since 2009.
As we’re in Japan for a month we were able to see them a few times. Firstly they took us to their local popular Izakaya. The food was as fabulous as the company – as it was great to catch up with them after 12 months.
They also spent time with us taking us to places in Tokyo.
.. and on our last day we were able to catchup with them again before taking the plane home. We enjoyed the local speciality of Sendai (tongue) and went to the fish art museum. Let’s face it they are impressive when you get an opportunity to see them up close and well lit).
Afterwards they took the time to come to the airport, enjoy one last meal together at the airport before we took the plane home.
Being from Australia we don’t necessarily value the large number of leave provision days we can take off. Japanese get much fewer days off – so when our friends let us know they are taking a day for us – it’s very special and we value their time… and can’t wait to see you again – hopefully next year.
Thank-you Brompton friends!
There are many things which go into making holidays great. Often it’s a combination of deciding where to go, what to experience with the time you have available, navigating your way around and being prepared to be opened minded for what you might experience. This is often our experience in Japan.
We recognise we are fortunate to have Brompton cycling friends in Japan – it was really great to see them again – and we have a very enjoyable time in their company.
These holidays we got to spend time with them –
- Cycling Oshima island over the first weekend- off the coast of Honshu, Japan
- Catching up over a couple of dinners in their city (Tokyo & Kobe) – which were great experiences (…it’s not all about the Bromptons)
- Spending the day cycling the Tama and Arakawa river in Tokyo and going to the summit of Mt Takao
- Attending the ‘Brompton In Palace’ Christmas event (inc. food and all you can drink) in Tokyo
Because we have known them since 2016.. we have learnt more about them, their culture, and as a bonus it’s helped us learn the best ways to get around Japan by Brompton. Through this friendship we also hope what we experience inspires them to visit the places in Japan we visit with our Bromptons – as they inspire us to cycle different places in Japan.
Mayumi, the leader of Brompton in Palace also does her own blog of cycling with her Brompton and about the events. If you are interested in reading the blog – I recommend you take a look. If you don’t read Japanese, don’t panic as there is a translate button in your internet browser.
ありがとうご座います… and we look forward to seeing you again next holiday.
World Bicycle Day
According to the United Nations, “World Bicycle Day draws attention to the benefits of using the bicycle — a simple, affordable, clean and environmentally fit sustainable means of transportation”. The UN forgot to mention the benefit of meeting new people and becoming friends.
This year Mary and I were in Singapore for World Bicycle Day. We celebrated by riding our Bromptons throughout the day!
When I tell people that I have just returned from riding Singapore, the usual response is one of surprise that it is big enough to do multiple days of bike riding. As you’ll see over the coming posts there are plenty of cycling opportunity in Singapore. This is certainly helped by the strategic encouragement of folding bikes as an integral part (first kms and last kms) of city journeys. Further, it is supported by the amazing Park Connector Network which
is an island-wide network of linear green corridors linking major parks and nature areas across Singapore. With more than 380 km of trails, the PCN presents a diverse palette of recreational green opportunities, provides avid outdoor enthusiasts with enhanced accessibility to nature spaces across the island, and serve to enhance ecological connectivity between our natural habitats.
The the first part of our World Bicycle Day celebration we decided to ride part of a the “Central Urban Loop” route. NParks has already prepared a number of loop rides that show off the PCN. The bad news is that they are presented as PDFs, which are really not compatible with my GPS Bike Computer. I did, however, prepare a number of GPX files that the the best of my ability follow the PDF published route. These might help you:
The Central Urban Loop started from Kallang MRT. This gave us the option of taking the MRT to the start. But it was, after all, World Bicycle Day so we decided to ride from the Tiong Bahru Bakery (yes riding is better with some pastry in your belly) to Kallang MRT. I’m glad that we did this pleasant 9km trip- as you’ll see from the photos below.
We followed the Central Urban Loop along waterways and parks for a further 13.5 kms before the heat of day politely suggested that it might be time to stop riding. We saw many of the HDB public housing estates, local hawkers centres, shopping centres, and other local life.
With an MRT station always nearby and folding bikes encouraged on public transport, it was no trouble at all to fold our Bromptons and make a beeline to the National Gallery of Singapore after a quick lunch in the Buangkok Hawker Centre in Sengkang Great Mall.
Surveying culture in an air conditioned environment is recommended in the mid afternoon!
World Bicycle Day is clearly best celebrated with friends. Riding a bike is actually a great way to meet people and become friends. Riding a Brompton Bike is even better. Riders around the world of Brompton Bikes are generous, friendly and engaging. Travelling with a Brompton, is in my view, the best way to see the world.
About a week before we arrived in Singapore, I left a message on the Brompton Singapore Facebook Group about our imminent arrival. Steve reached out and said he and Poh Leng would arrange a ride for us. There was no better way to celebrate World Bicycle Day than with our new Singapore friends (and a little drone).
A ride down the river and through the financial district, a shared meal and then the illuminations of i Light Singapore, there was no better way to celebrate World Bicycle Day. Thank you!
After the lights at Marina Bay the gang rode back up the river for some late night snacks at ABC Corner. What a great day!
I look forward to riding with our new Singapore Brompton friends again – Here in Australia, somewhere else overseas, but most definitely I’ll be back for another ride in Singapore, perhaps this time fully around the island!
The weather has been perfect….
… for cycling in Japan and catching up with friends. We spent three days cycling the Tobishima Kaido and the Shimanami Kadio, which is in the inland Sea of Japan near Hiroshima with our friend Takero. The views like the picture above were stunning… and the roads were great (sorry England, but here they are maintained). We had a great time and value the time spent. Namma bieru mitsu onegaishimasu (hiragana does not work in the blog so you get bad Japanese)!
We were also fortunate to catch up with some of our Brompton friends at the hi-monthly Brompton in Palace meeting. It was great to see all the bikes, enjoy fast food udon, and visit a park which you can cycle around and see many things – including bonsai, traditional garden and open spaces. It was a great day and we value being able to attend! Thank you Mayumi! For more information search for Brompton in Palace on Facebook.
We also spent time with our non cycling friends Gaku, Ryoko and Shota seeing their Tokyo and getting to visit our favourite shops in new locations. Gaku planned a great day involving seeing an exhibition at Tenozu Island of Channel called Mademoiselle Privé – about fashion and her inspiration, and a great lunch – It’s always interesting seeing Tokyo from the perspective of people who live here.
Kym and I really appreciate the time spent with us – we look forward to seeing you all again soon.
Kyoto Best by Bike
Kyoto Best by Bike, originally uploaded by kdt.
There is absolutely no doubt, Kyoto is best seen by bike. Yesterday we met up with volunteers from the Kyoto University Good Samaritans Club. They showed us their Kyoto. We hired bikes ate lunch at the University and enjoyed giant servings of green tea sweets! For good measure we saw a shrine or two! But the best bit was cycling around parts of Kyoto that are well off the tourist path! For good measure we hired bikes again this morning and did some of the most rewarding cycling. Their tiny streets and interesting buildings make it a great joy. As soon as you arrive in Kyoto you should hire a bike from the Kyoto Cycling Tour Project. The things we happened upon were interesting real world shops, good coffee, a small shrine and kimono parade!
No #1 Best Attraction at Olympic Park
No #1 Best Attraction at Olympic Park, originally uploaded by kdt.
You’d think it might be the Birds Nest or perhaps the Water Cube.. but for some young, and not so young, Chinese it is the foreigner! There were many groups from regional China who asked us in English if they could have their photograph taken with us. One photo turned into many as each member of the group asked us for a photo on there camera. We could have set up a stand and charged one yuan, but that wouldn’t be consistent with the olympic spirit, would it?
If you are reading this blog and recognise yourself in this photo, or these other ones on Flickr, leave us a comment on this post.
