 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
*** Life in Japan: Nandaro? ***
"Nandaro" is the Japanese word for "What is that/this?"
Road Traffic Laws for Bicycles
道路交通法（どうろこうつうほう）・自転車（じてんしゃ）
by MINAMI Kana |
Road traffic laws have been amended over the last two years and major changes have been made with regard to bicycles.
The following are the general rules:
1. Ride on the road
You may only ride on the sidewalk under one of these conditions:
*A: When there is a sign indicating "Bicycles and Pedestrians Only"
*B: When persons designated by government ordinance, such as school children,
young children under 13 years of age and persons over 70 years of age,
are riding the bicycles.
*C: When riding on a sidewalk is necessary judging from the road and traffic
conditions.
2. On the sidewalk, pedestrians have the right of way. Bike slowly and
keep near the road.
3. Keep to the left when on the road.
4. Follow these safety rules:
-Riding while drunk, double riding and riding side-by-side are prohibited.
-Turn on your bike light at night, while inside tunnels and on foggy days.
-Obey the traffic lights and ride safely.
5. Everyone should wear a bicycle helmet, especially children and infants.
Penalties or fines are imposed for traffic violations. For example, a person
caught biking while drunk could received a sentence of a five-year prison
term or a fine of up to one million yen. |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
I'm not a sporty person. Actually, I've never done any sports. When I was
a school girl, physical education was a nightmare, especially in winter.
The gymnasium was cold enough, but outside!? When it's this cold why do
I have to go skiing? I can't count how many times I skipped that class.
On the days when we went skiing, I was usually sick.
However, there is one exception: riding bikes. I like doing that. No, don't
misunderstand me. My biking hobby is not for serious sport. I don't do
cycling. I use my bicycle for the purpose of travelling. Yes, I use it
to go places.
When I was still a high school student, I had a favorite shop. It was called Urara. Urara used to be diagonally opposite the France-Tei restaurant. Urara has many beautiful European goods, clothing, accessories, bags, shoes and so on. They were so interesting and some of them were strange to my eyes. At that time, I mostly just looked into the shop from the outside window. But one day I stepped in the shop with a friend. And then, can you guess what happened?
We couldn't stop laughing. We enjoyed the shop's selection so much. It
had a style that looked like it came from Europe and some of it was rococo.
Rococo as a style makes me feel embarrassed. I'm not denying that it has style; it is just not my style. And at that time we were still innocent. Anyway we were interested
in the goods. We talked about each item one by one with loud voices and
happy laughs. First, the shop owner was quiet. Then, she started to stare
at us. Soon, she began to glare at us, and finally she shouted to us to
"Go away!!!" We jumped and ran. And on the way back home we couldn't
stop laughing and talking about the shop and life overseas in places we
had never been yet.
After that we moved to Sapporo for school. After graduating she moved to
Tokyo with her husband, while I lived in Sapporo for quite a while before
moving to London for my new life. Two years ago, I cam back here to Asahikawa.
Last summer, by chance I stood in front of Urara and thought, "WOW! They're still in business!?" I was with my mother. So we stepped into the shop. Urara was exactly the same as it was when I was a high school student, except the woman wasn't there anymore. I bought a lovely dress (not rococo style!), and talked to the clerk about my memory with a laugh. He said, "Maybe the woman was my mother." "What!?" I replied.
After we had nice chat, he said, "We are moving to 4-jo 19-chome." I said, "That's too far to go by bicycle." And we looked at my bicycle through the shop window. He stared in wonder at us. "I came here by bicycle and my mother came here by bus. We arranged to meet in town," I explained. He nodded.
The other day, my mother and I went shopping in town and suddenly my mother said, "I'd like to go to Urara." But I couldn't remember the exact address of the shop. We took a useless taxi to about 3-jo 15-chome and wandered around for a little while. We saw a bicycle shop and stepped in to ask about Urara. The man kindly told us the way.
Now Urara is not only a shop but also a place to eat. We met the woman
whom I met when I was a high school student and the man we met before.
Both had friendly smiles. Now he is the chef at the restaurant. We ate
delicious curry there. I recommend the omelette curry. It's nice. And the
coffee was great. We didn't eat the sweets but they looked lovely and I
will try them next time. All the dishes were made by the man. One regret
is that they don't have bread menu. No toast, no sandwiches... Sad, because
I'm a bread lover.
We didn't talk much that time and I thought he didn't remember us. But
the atmosphere was really nice and my mother and I enjoyed our time there.
A few days later, I got a card from Urara. It said, "Next time come
here by bicycle." The card made me smile.
Fashion, Interior Goods and Café Urara
Location: 4-jo-dori 19-chome Migi 1-go, Asahikawa
Phone Number: 31-7857
Open Monday to Saturday: 10:00am ~ 7:00pm
Closed Sundays |
|
|
| *The opinions expressed above are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Asahikawa International Committee or the City of Asahikawa. |
|
|
