I've been meaning to make this video for a while, so I'm happy to finally have it out. For a long time I didn't think I could make it because I just didn't know enough about urban design or city planning to figure out how to talk about why I like biking in Tokyo. After seeing the Copenhagenize Index's rankings and seeing how all these other cities ranked similar to Tokyo, I felt more confident that I could at least talk about what I like about Tokyo as well as understand why it doesn't rank so well. If you liked this video, I think you'll like a couple other creators that just made content about Japanese cities and its streets. One is from Not Just Bikes kzfaq.info/get/bejne/oNKnhJWKmajdYIk.htmlsi=TH3aNA9UeWNu2oyO and the other by City Beautiful (it's on Nebula only right now) nebula.tv/videos/citybeautiful-tokyo-has-the-best-streets-in-the-world

My reasons to watch this video: - Because it is educational - Full of bike riding POV across Tokyo

In rural areas in Japan, almost everyone who can drive, drives. I live in ‘semi-rural’ small town Japan, and it’s a bit of a mix. Cars are still popular, but a decent number of people (including myself) use a bike to get around town. It often ends up being quicker than driving, and with gas prices the way they are it just makes sense. For long distance trips, like between cities, trains are generally the popular choice.

I have visited Tokyo with my family for about a month for the last decade and really appreciate the fact that bikes are so integrated into the daily lives of most people in the city. Honestly, I feel like the Copenhagenize Index feels like a Western European view of cycling. It's seems weighted towards physical infrastructure and governmental regulations and advocacy. My experience in Japan is that biking is more accepted by the society and allowances are made fo things like cycling on sidewalks and the fact that you can pretty much bike anywhere. Some specific observations: Traffic calming measures - I feel like the narrow neighborhood streets with their non-grid layout is itself a traffic calming measure. The major streets need some more of this but really it's much more enjoyable riding on the side streets. Cargo bikes - really, the mamachari bikes with multiple seat attachments are themselves cargo bikes. As always, I found your video informative and thoughtful. Thanks!

NGL, I thought this vid was gonna be a Collab with Not Just Bikes.

Seeing those stairs with a ramp for your bike was genius. Simple but effective!

YOu didn't cover the 'no need to be cool' factor. A bike is just a mode of transport, nobody cares what brand it is or what it looks like. I remember a story of my young cousin in my hometown in Australia. I asked why she didn't ride to school. Her words....'it's not cool'. I laughed at people making their lives harder for the sake of fashion. Personally, I'm 100% function over fashion. I love my bike and its basket. Good vid

I'm no expert either and only experience other cities' bicycle infrastructure vicariously through KZfaqrs, but it does seem to me that Tokyo might be ranked lower because the study comes from a more de-suburbanizing Western perspective. The expectation is that many cities have been too car-centric for decades and need to bring bicycling in from the margins, whereas in Tokyo, bicycling has already been a more common fixture of daily life and city planning. It doesn't have as many of the exciting new additions to improve bicycle infrastructure like we see in other cities, but that's because so many neighborhoods are already so dense and more human scale that they're organically bicycle friendly. Narrow streets and densely populated neighborhoods are basically de facto traffic-calming measures.

There are very few separated bike/multi-use paths in Okinawa. Those that exist generally don't lead anywhere, but are provided for exercise and nice views - kind of like stretched out parks. Despite the lack of functionality, these places almost always have lots of pedestrians, cyclists, and tourists enjoying them. The rest of urban Okinawa is a car-centric hellscape, where it is unpleasant and unsafe to bike or walk. There is almost no public transportation. Local residents are forced to drive everywhere, and those that can't are trapped at home. This naturally beautiful subtropical island is increasingly overrun with traffic, parking lots, and ever-widening roads. A paved paradise indeed.

Can I just say thanks for the complete linked source list? It was so handy to be able to quickly go look at them, and I've bookmarked quite a few. Top notch thinking of your viewers.

Bicycles in Japan are 95% mamachari, which is meant for rides less than 2km, whereas bikes in Europe are used for more longer distances. If you’re going to travel more than 2km in Tokyo, you’re inclined to use the trains/subway. The concept of using bikes among the public is different from that of what people in Europe envision.

Where I live in California has dedicated bike lanes on every major road but everyone rides on the sidewalk due to the 50MPH speed limit. Back in the 90's I worked for Applied Materials and later for IBM in Silicon Valley, both companies provided free public transit passes and the local transit service let you take your bike on any bus or light rail train (if there was room.) It was great having multiple options for commuting. I got a car eventually simply because it took a minimum of an hour to commute by bike but only 15-30 minutes by car.

Your videos are so relaxing. I miss Tokyo and Yokohama ❤

I love your videos on cycling in Japan, especially. I wish we had a bike infrastructure here, in eastern Wa., but sadly we don't.

Can we also mention how beneficial cycling to work is for your mental and physical health? I almost always cycle everywhere up until 10-15km and when I do my morning commute by bike I feel rejuvenated and a lot more energised. The few times I take public transport in the morning I often feel groggy and less cheerful in general.

Live in Kichijoji and am a rollerblader. I couldn't think of a better place to skate with the majority of this massive city being relatively car free and having great pavement.

In regards to company commute, a lot of companies pay for your commute. I once worked for 3 months at a bread factory in Japan. When i got hired, I fill out all the information like where i live and emergency contacts ( as any company normally would ) In the end, they calculated my bus fair based on where i lived. Which was about 3.00 dollars a day round trip. So I got an extra 3.00 dollars a day. But what I and most people do if you live somewhat close to where you work is you take your bike and commute to work. I saved an extra 3 dollars a day, which i pretty much used up buying cold drinks at the vending machine on hot days. I would only take the bus if it was raining or feeling lazy.

Two things I noticed that have changed in the last 20 years: bike parking has become cumbersome. Most places forbid parking, police is quick to collect your bike, you need to use paid parking structures which again shaves off time (and a bit of money), the other is that legally bikes are not allowed to use sidewalks, unless indicated, but the majority still do, because they are afraid to share the road with cars.

Love all your biking videos. Beautiful scenery!

I loved biking in Tokyo and had one of the best time ever. Biking here in London is fine but it's a bit annoying sometimes given the bumpy roads and the fear of theft leaving the bike infront of grocery store.

I live in Strasbourg and it doesn't deserve high ranking, and especially not 6th place. Moved here about a year ago and rarely used my bike. Not only theft is a big problem, but there's no dedicated cycling infrastructure. You're expected to cycle on the street together with cars, which is VERY unsafe. Few times I tried, I got honked at multiple times and nearly died. I can't help but compare it to my hometown (Łódź in Poland), where the entire city was covered with dedicated cycling paths... which is much better than Strasbourg when it comes to cycling. I used to take a bike or public transport to get to school. Here I'm always taking a tram + bus to get to the office (despite the fact it takes longer), as I don't feel safe going to the office by bike.

Always fun to see the videos out in the wild :)

A straightforward and informative video makes a nice change from a lot of what I see on KZfaq

man this channel has been on my top favourite ones since years ago now... Just wanted to share a thought: It makes me incredibly happy to see you've found your piece of heaven, family and life in such a cool place. It has its challenges, of course, but it seems like a much nicer life than ours here in Europe or North America

Brought my brompton folding bike with me on a recent trip. loved the mobility and freedom. was even able to explore the kamakura and enoshima seaside after taking my bike on th train. I felt like I could go anywhere with endless possibilities.

The lack of dedicated lanes is probably one of the huge reason. Not everyone feels safe on the pavement.

It's been a treat this weekend seeing all the videos about Japan from the urbanist creators!

@<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="900">15:00</a> , Greg, thank you for explaining as to why people cannot cycle to work. It’s quite annoying (I can’t stand tight or crowded places, will faint) to see people packed like sardines in a train & was wondering why they wouldn’t bike to work. Well, this video answers it.

For me living in Yokohama since several years, I kind of lost interest in using my bike, which I have been using in Germany almost on daily basis. One reason is that the distances for me are much higher and it’s really a pain that you cannot take your bike on a train, which is possible for almost every train in Germany. I know there are exceptions, if you can fold your bike, but mine isn’t such kind of. Furthermore lot of areas are quite crowded, which makes it dangerous for me and the other pedestrians to share the same area. On the roads I don’t feel comfortable as I feel Japanese are not used to “fast bicycle”, which have speeds of 30kph+, rather than used to slower commuter, which they can overtake easily/quickly. But overall riding your bike near a river, is really a huge please especially during autumn or spring season.

Thanks for these cozy videos, keep it up!

Wow, what a great video with epic views. This makes me want to cycle around Tokyo so much. Thanks.

I have really been enjoying your video's this year, I hope every one else has had as positive opinion as I have had :D for the bikes, I wish my city/contry looked and felt as safe as this video makes Tokyo look. even with its low rating it appears to be fairly safe. where I am each time I ride the bike, that is not on a dedicated bike/park path, I am scared that at any moment a car will hit me on the street, or will blindly pull out of a parking lot driveway with out even considering a bike. I have nearly been hit several times and a friend has been hit a few times. its scary here in the US. :(

Ngl I find it really funny that copenhagen ranks itself so highly as a biking city. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of bikes 'round here (I live in copenhagen), but it could be quite a lot better than it is. The whole idea of copenhagen being the judge of bike-friendliness, while just "coincidentially" ranking itself the highest on the list, seems suspicious to me (because I do think it overblows it's bike-friendliness quite significantly). One of the simplest descriptors of this, is the amount of seperated bicycle lanes. Copenhagen has 23kms of those across the city, whereas amsterdam has ~965km of seperated bicycle lanes. The idea that Copenhagen is the most bike friendly city is (in my honest opinion as someone who has biked a lot in copenhagen), absurd.

this is particularly helpful for us folks who want to cycle Tokyo on their holiday. Specially extra handy in escaping overtourism lately. Thank you Greg! I'd be riding much safer this November :)

Thanks for the interesting video!

Japan looks awesome to cycle.

I have been living and biking in Tokyo for two years and it's a mixed bag. The "Tokyo metropolitan area" is vast and encompasses lots of terrain, infrastructure and challenges. For me it ranks higher than US cities I have biked in (and way higher than Okinawa where i lived for 4 years) but there are certainly better places to cycle in Europe. Overall I enjoy biking here and am grateful for all of the provisions for bikes that exist!

Good informative report. Thank you.

Ah, the Copenhagenize index, created by Copenhagen. @<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="355">05:55</a> It's always pedestrians and cyclists who have to share the small spaces :/ I see in most of your footage that most curbs have a gentle slope, which allows cyclists to hop on the pavement in case of a parked car @<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="500">08:20</a> Ginormous bike parking facilities near train stations are such a gift. It's so weird, they're not doing much on the main roads but residential areas look like they're an absolute delight to ride in because of their layout. Also there seems to be a lot of tolerance regarding pavements and 'wild' parking. And at the same time you've got these amazing parking facilities and ramps all across the city...

Tokyo seems pretty good for cycling based on what ive seen online. And as a Dutch person i have some issues with that index. By name it sounds like its a list of the best cities for bikes, but i think, not just being patriotic, the top 6 of such a list should consist of cities in the Netherlands.

Haven't biked in Japan myself, but Tokyo mostly seems fine to me, from what I've seen. Particularly the small streets, but I also find the wide sidewalks fine. The most troublesome thing definitely seems to be the big busy roads with small sidewalks where you'd mostly be on the road. That doesn't seem super safe. I've always lived in smaller cities in Denmark, which tend to have separated bike paths on busier streets and roads, or at least a marked part of the streets that you can mostly count on drivers not to cross onto (though there are exceptions). Definitely feels like Tokyo could take a lane or two from some of those really wide roads to make bike paths and/or extend the sidewalks.

I live in the Greater Buenos Aires area, in Argentina. It's free-fire for everyone and anyone here. Most folks don't use helmets. Most drivers think they're racing an F1 Grand Prix, motorcyclists think they're Valentino Rossi and bikers that they're Lance Armstrong. Stopped cycling a long time ago because of that. Oh, right. Bus drivers are downright mental, too. Pedestrians are the most endangered, though. Don't need a broken bone or my brains splattered on the ground because someone was in a hurry. Downtown Buenos Aires has bike lanes, but they're a bit of a joke. Extremely narrow and usually using part of the canted gutter next to the sidewalk curve. Great video, Greg. All in all, one could see Tokyo doing more for cyclists in the grand scheme of things. But they have an ample variety of pathways as well and people will use them. Cheers.

Good analysis, Greg! We've always loved your bike videos, and we've seen some other channels (like Not Just Bikes and City Berautiful, as you mention) where the criteria for "bike friendliness" are discussed. For instance, "Right Turn on Red" is great for motorists but deadly for cyclists. I didn't understand this linkage before so now I am persuaded that banning "Right Turn on Red" is the logical thing to do (in Japan it would be "Left Turn on Red").

Very interesting. Thank you. I lived in Tokyo from 1978-85 and often did the 10km commute from my home near Asagaya to Yotsuya by bike. It always felt quite safe, as I dodged onto sidewalks where necessary, and given that I had a 12 minute walk to the station, it took about the same time as commuting by train. My employer knew I was riding to work but never mentioned insurance issues, so maybe worker insurance didn't exist back then. Since then have ridden from time to time on return visits to Tokyo, and it still feels reasonably safe, but not as much as before due to increased car traffic. I have also had a couple of near misses with other cyclists looking at their phones while riding. However, it's still a hell of a lot safer than trying to ride here in cyclist hating Australia

As a Montreal lifetime cyclist who's biked in many different city's and just recently visited Tokyo.... I absolutely loved biking there. The local grandma's and the day to day but also the faster big action which traverses neighborhoods:Tokyo drivers are very conscious of bikes. Tokyo deserves to be much higher on the list, they may lack western type bike infrastructure, but cycling as part of the culture is.much further evolved than certainly anywhere in North America.

16th best city in the world seems pretty good.

Interesting vid thanks! Tokyo (Japan in general) is great for getting around your local neighborhood by bike as you said. I like to go long and fast on my road bike so Tokyo would suck for me (the law wants you to keep left on the road but then there's so many cars temporarily parked like you said so you end up weaving in and out of traffic). It's fine in the countryside where I am now though xD

This is a fantastic intro to what cycling is like in Japan. How does someone take deep dives into the details without boring a mainstream audience? Maybe the details are not so important for mainstream viewers? What subcultures within cycling are in Japan? How many kinds of people use the infamous mamachari bikes? Is Kirin just a beer or is it a bike race? Are there any group bicycle camping excursions in Japan? How do the many mountains affect rural areas and cycling there?

In 91/92, I'd vent around Earth with my cycle, the time when CPHs cycle-budget was near zero. it was a decade before cycle-infra structure became billion dollar industri . I'm soon 70, have cycled since 6, in CPH, most of the big cities didn have any cycle infra, but as a experienced cyclist I injoyed it, there was hardly any cyclist in N.Y. or S-Fr. but Tokyo was great, I loved it. Our two mega bridges in DK. is not for cycles, Innoshima in Japan is five mega-bridges, in a row, with cycle-paths. Soon after I was in Peking, highway scale cycle infra, being a cycle-drop in cycle-rivers, it was somehow the most complete from a Cycle Logic perspective. Mr. Copenhagenize had the same experience, about same time, but was little scared of the enormous flow. Out of 80 countries, Japan was the most modern.

I'm surprised at the relatively low ranking of Tokyo. But I'm not a cyclist...I haven't owned a bike in decades living a car centric/dependent Canadian city. However, on my first trip to Japan I was completely floored at how bikes and pedestrians seemed to integrate together on shared side walks along the busier roads. I walked every where in Tokyo and I didn't feel any issue with sharing the quieter streets or the side walks with bikes. In fact, I was so impressed that I decided to rent a bike and toured around the city that way and had so much fun doing it. And from that experience and subsequent other trips doing the same, I agree with you...I think biking around Tokyo is pretty great. Though, I absolutely love the public transit system there as well :)

Great analysis

Very good summation of the situation for cycling. I have commuted to work from the Tama River area to inner Tokyo since 1991, about 17 kilometers one way. Have had maybe 4 accidents, nothig serious. Car drivers back then were not very conscience for cyclists, but have improved a lot in the last 10 years. I very rarely use the sidewalks and in traffic will stick out my arm for signaling. Many cyclists need to be more concerned when riding up from behind pedistrians. Safety is not their number one concern.

I currently live in Melbourne, Aus. Here cycling is almost non-existent, but there is some dedicated cycling paths and infrastructure in inner suburbs and hopefully they are building more. In my home city of Christchurch, NZ I guess I just love cycling there, ample of dedicated cycling paths and public bathrooms scattered all around the city the best part is parks all around the city, I so much miss that. I guess it's not on the Copenhagen index because we are tiny when compared to mega-cities like Tokyo but to be honest that is what I love about Christchurch that it is small and friendly.

Good summary.

I lived in a smaller city and the same understanding of bikes, people, cars, and trains was prevalent there, too. I miss Japan's focus on people working together to make life efficient-and just decent. For example, I miss seeing a 7 year old walking a heavily traveled road not worried about car traffic going by.

TLDR: Danish study ranks Japanese capital city 16th place and ranks it's own capital city *_1st._* Q: Was it an objective study? A: Press X for doubt.

semi-unrelated but I always watch in awe at how calm and peaceful Tokyo's neighborhood streets are. theyre so quiet and welcoming to people, it makes me smile with a tad bit of envy as an American

Thank you for showing the various aspects of bicycling in Tokyo! It looks a lot better than I expected from such a busy city.

WELCOME BACK!!!!!

I'm from Montreal, and I visited Japan last year. And although I didn't get to bike as much, I do feel conflicted. Biking in Montreal is fairly safe because of the recent infrastructure. But once you get outside those bike lanes, it can be quite challenging. In Japan, initially you would think it would feel intimidating, but I think it's the space of the streets and general awareness of people that somehow makes it quite easy to bike around in Tokyo. And like mentioned in the video, biking is just efficient with what you need to do.

As someone who has lived and bikes extensively in both Copenhagen and inner Tokyo for many years, I would argue a different angle than this report. Outside of the wonderful recreational paths along the riversides, the cycling path infrastructure in Tokyo is lackluster and extremely frustrating. The key factors you pointed out are the pointless “bike paths” on the roads with cars constantly parked on them, and the sidewalks where both pedestrians and cyclists walk/bike anywhere even if there is a dedicated and marked bike path. HOWEVER, despite the chaos, I would describe it as organized chaos and for most of the time I do not personally feel in danger - even when I have to weave about busy roads due to parked cars.

I was surprised at the insurance issues around cycling to work in Japan! Here in Germany, there is even a tax incentive model for employers to lease out bicycles to their employees (via third-party providers). It's part of the e-bike craze over here because it makes it easier to get one of these expensive e-bikes.

I live in Tokyo and commute daily to university in my bicycle. Cycling is great on the small streets on the neighborhood, you get the best of both the road and pedestrian infrastructure. I used to bring a chain for securing my bicycle at the beginning but theft is so low that I stopped doing that, so far it has been 4 years since I stopped locking my bike😅, and nothing has ever happen.

India, where I am from, has the largest number of cycle riders, which includes work commute ...however the infrastructure is not cycle friendly...I hope in the coming years things change for the better.

Thanks for sharing this video 👍 Im walking tour vlogger from Philippines 🇵🇭

TRAINS! I would think Tokyo would be better for bikes as well. The Netherlands reigns supreme. Cycling where I'm from is a fight for you life. This is not a joke.

Good video! I love biking in Tokyo. The lack of dedicated and separate bike lanes is definitely a minus though compared to many other cities that have improved the cycling infrastructure quite a lot last 10 years or so. I think the biking on sidewalks is a really bad solution. As a cyclist it might be nice but there are constantly near accidents when people are zigzagging between pedestrians at rather high speeds. I’m always a bit surprised at how close to pedestrians many cyclists pedal.

A huge difference, which those studies will miss, is how much safer and easier it is to park your bike in Japan. A lot of the places I parked my bike at had guards. At least the ones I used next to the university and train stations. The smaller places also had some decent places to leave my bike at. The key thing is, I never felt fear over my bike getting stolen or damaged, hell I even forgot to lock it outside a store once for 40 minutes and no one touched it. The only people who will take your bike is the city if you park it wrong in a high traffic area. The reports are also missing the very important river paths that almost work like a bike highway through a city. Only the subway can match the speed at which you can get from A to B if you utilize the river roads effectively on a bike.

Nice video :) That "Copenhagenize index" doesn't take into account how dangerous the city may be for bikers. Especially, Bogota (the capital of my country Colombia) has become extremely dangerous during the last 5 years, it is not safe anymore for bikers as there are a lot of violent thieves. So it is ok to use this index as a reference but after living in Belgium for 5 years, I can tell you that there are way more Belgian cities (not only Antwerp) that can easily be part of this ranking including Brussels and Gent.

I'm European and I've been on a cycling tour across Japan, Taiwan. Taipei felt worse than Tokyo, but there is a dedicated cycling route along the river. Tokyo is slower and less hectic, but there's too much sharing the road. Seperated, dedicated bike infrastructure is missing in Tokyo and in Japan in general. The Netherlands are amazing for bike infrastructure.

Many years ago I lived in Japan. I would bike from home to work, a distance of about 11 km. There were no bike lanes and 7 tunnels along my route. You haven't lived until you're biking through a dark tunnel...railing on your left (magically the exact same height as the handlebar) and a massive truck on your right inches away. Only the courtesy of Japanese drivers kept me safe. I think biking in Japan isn't bad but they don't have the infrastructure for bike lanes etc because they are so space constrained.

Nice video. 😀👍

In Osaka (at least in the shitamachi where we are) the main street sidewalks are almost all marked as shared bike/pedestrian... and the bikes don't really yield to pedestrians much in my experience! Keeping right when you're walking usually keeps you pretty safe, though.

It feels like a full suspension mountain bike is not allowed in Japan. Not only it's expensive but it also has wide handlebars and loud hubs which may annoy the people on the street or accidentally hitting them with the handlebars. And it has a very high chance that it will get stolen even if it's locked.

In the Philippines cities had adopted the bike lanes just 5 years ago during the pandemic. So you can say, it's still in it's infancy stage and we don't know if there are improvements or infrastructures to be made for the humble cyclists. Most of these bike lanes are from the city. People who are cycling out of town and touring the country for hundreds of kilometers need to be aware of their surroundings and must stick to the right side of the road, cause there's no bike lanes there to protect them. Even when there are bike lanes we have to get out of our comfort zone when vehicles are parked inside. Some use it as their own parking spot cause it's right in front of their stores and consider it as part of their property. Nonetheless we still use it when it's free of vehicles.

Im from switzerland. The city I'm from has not really a good bike infrastructure. Often it is just paint on the ground which indicates a bike lane, but more often than note it is just a shared lane between bicycles and cars. Even where there is a bikelane, cars still use it often to cut corners, and if a truck is in front of you, good luck trying to drive past it. Driving on the sidewalk is generally prohibited, with the only exception being children who have not had the bicycle drivers exam.

Great video!

nice video... a lot of work, I'm sure, went into research!

We have 1 shared lane here in BKK. Mostly it's used by motorbikes to speed through red lights, or go in against the actual traffic direction. At least it keeps motorbikes off of pedestrian areas.

Japan's walkability and bikability are amazingly viable nationwide due to the design ofJapanese cities saturated with alleys and dimunitive streets. I have been there twice and absolutely love that ubiquitous system.

Im a Mexican living in Tokyo and being used to ride all my life in Mexico City where you can’t really ride on sidewalks, drivers don’t respect cyclists and there’s always a potential hazard on the road like sewers, cracks and holes riding in Japan is such a blessing. Do be careful of old people that don’t look before turning😅.

I am in New York City where large scale bike share has been a game changer. There’s also been a lot of bike infrastructure built in the last few years and more to come. That said, it can be a terrifying place to ride a bike and several bicyclists are killed every year. A significant problem is trucks and cars that do not use care and violate traffic laws. In my NYC neighborhood alone there has been about 5 riders killed over just a few years. All involved trucks and cars breaking the law by speeding, not checking while turning, and other such behavior. Parking in protected bike lanes, even those with a cement barrier, continues to be a problem. Question: Are there statistics on bicyclists death and serious injury in Tokyo?

It's not easy to capture cycling friendliness in a simple number. I have cycled through Tokyo and many other Japanese cities, and I agree with you. There are annoyances and occasional dangers, but all in all it's great, despite the lack of infrastructure. Part of it is safety in numbers, bikes are everywhere. Part of it is that drivers are far less homicidal than what I see in Europe. Cycling through Amsterdam is great to, and it's easier to plan a longer route there. But for a hop between two random points not too far apart, I wouldn't say there is much difference. Sometimes Amsterdam will be better, sometimes Tokyo. Cycling the smaller towns and countryside is great in Japan too, in most places. The major exception is the "commercial suburbia" areas with huge shopping centers. Those suck, no matter where in the world you ride. Avoid those, and Japan is a great place for biking.

I'm from Costa Rica, a considerably small country with loads of beautiful places to go. Besides almost everyone living in an area of about 20km square, cycling is a nightmare and even not allowed in many roads. I Hope to see more bike lanes in the next years now that the culture of cycling is taking over.

There's probably a reason for it, but I recall learning (perhaps in one of your videos!) that it's illegal to take your bicycle on a train in Tokyo, unless you can fold it up or put it in a bag for the trip. In the closest large city to me, Melbourne (Australia), you're allowed to take bicycles on trains, and as long as you keep them in a dedicated area in the carriage and out of the way, it's perfectly fine. IMO, I believe that if Tokyo had more allowance for bicycles on trains (such as dedicated on-carriage spaces, etc.), a lot more people would use bicycles for work commutes or longer city trips; a hybrid public transport-personal transport method would no doubt appeal to a lot of people who currently seldom ride (or don't ride at all).

Though there is a marked increase in bike commuting and some efforts to create bike only lanes, Metro Manila is still a dangerous place for bike commuters. Motorcycles tend to use the bike lanes.

Totally agree with you. Cycling in Tokyo is great once you have found the small streets that take you around. I do normally cycle to work (don’t ask, don’t tell) and it’s about 9 km and takes me roughly the same as by train. Shopping I actually do by foot (or on my way home). But yes, you can’t measure Japanese cycling with the Kopenhagen index. Cycling to work is a total minority as trains are just so convenient, cargo bikes are hard to park but also kind of unnecessary if you see the mothers with up to 3 children on their modern mamacharis (one behind, one in front and the baby strapped to the body). There aren’t many cycling lanes and the ones that exist are bad. But there are A LOT of small backstreets shared with pedestrians, bicycles and cars that make for great riding. One could probably argue that Tokyo has a huge bike lane infrastructure if you consider all these back streets a multiuser bike lane. Cycling is also very common from small kids to the very elderly who are defying gravitation and rotational speed each time they get on their bikes and snake around the city at speeds so low you can easily overtake them walking and I am still at awe why they don’t fall off the bike. And in the weekend you pack your road bike and head by train out of the city and into the joys of mountain climbing. So yes, all things considered I think Japan is a great country for cyclists and I do prefer it over the Netherlands. Where there is definitely a lot more / better infrastructure but a lot less landscape variation.

Good To Know That People Are People Anywhere !

I live in Tokyo, and ride some 300km per week here. I have a car, but do most of my commuting by bicycle. I also ride for fitness, and enjoy riding from the city out to the countryside. When it comes to bike lanes and paths in Japan, an important thing to understand is that the Japanese, unlike other cultures, emphasize personal responsibility over improving safety into roads, vehicles, or machines. Japan understands something which other societies can't seem to comprehend, that it isn't possible to build a safe car, bicycle, or road if people use these things unsafely. Therefore, rather than make roads or vehicles safer (which is a fool's errand), Japan strives to make vehicle and machine operators safer. The potential consequences of harming a cyclist or pedestrian in a collision are severe. When you get a Japan drivers license (which is difficult and expensive to obtain), you have to fully understand the rules of the road, and that bicycles and other vehicles have the right to share the road with motor vehicles. Japan does not believe in the concept of "accidents." In Japan, if you hit a bicycle, pedestrian, or other vehicle, you have committed an act of "negligence." Any act of negligence which results in an injury or fatality is considered a crime in Japan. For those who aren't aware, Japan's criminal justice system is not something any sane person wants to get on the wrong side of. If a motor vehicle driver hits and and seriously injures a cyclist, motorcyclist, or pedestrian, the criminal and financial consequences can be severe. In the case of a fatality, the driver will be arrested on the spot, and will receive a mandatory jail sentence. This is all the more worse as when you are arrested for such an offense, you cannot bail out, or get a pretrial release, your jail sentence starts as soon as you are taken away from the scene. The jail term isn't long, unless alcohol or gross negligence are involved. DUI manslaughter carries a 15 year sentence in Japan. I feel much safer cycling in Japan than I do in other countries.

You also won't get to the store faster by car if there's nowhere adjacent to park your car. I didn't see car parking by your store, and of the four markets near me when I lived in Osaka, the closest car parking was a paid garage _adjacent_ to Tennouji station... with the markets in the basement of the station. So you're walking a few minutes anyway. Vs. abundant and free or very cheap bike parking right by the entrance of the non-train station markets, and outside Tennouji. As for the video points: yeah! across the board. Living in Osaka and seeing its 25% bike mode share showed me that the Dutch bike paths aren't vital. What's vital is separation from fast cars, done by slow shared streets (both countries), or separation on fast roads via dedicated path (Dutch) or multi-use wide sidewalk (Japan, as you highlight.) People are happy to bike as long as they're not scared of being run down. I was tickled to see the MITT chart of fastest travel times. The blogger kchoze had made similar graphs, to understand by bus service is terrible in major Japanese cities (answer: it's squeezed out by walking, biking and trains; bus is almost never the fastest mode, unless maybe you can't walk far due to age or something.) Never knew there was an official version!

I used to live in Shinjuku and still live in the Tokyo area. As some other residents (and the great video) have said, it's a mixed bag. Not bad, but could be better if there was any motivation to make it so. In major areas like Shinjuku or Ueno, wanting to ride a bike any faster than 10kph is deadly. Sidewalks are too crowded to use, but the roads are 3-4 lanes wide with only "sharrows" to designate that bicycles have a right of way. "Temporary" on street parking is rampant (popping into a convenience store or talking on the phone, or just plain taking a nap for 30 minutes is accepted. And the otherwise omnipresent police seem to be unbothered by it all.) and the chance of getting doored is very high, though I have not been a victim yet thank goodness. Another major issue is the city runs on convenience stores, which are supplied at least 3 times every day by mid-large (2-ton) trucks. These trucks park for well over 20-30 minutes at the side of the road, and they are everywhere, forcing cyclists into aforementioned 3-4 lanes of traffic. Construction is constant too, and so are the associated dump trucks on any of the major trunk roads. Tokyo seems to have no real ambition to reduce car or truck use that I've seen. It just wants to put the elevated highways underground where they ruin the view, but the regular roads either get wider or just renewed. One example of how planners and policy makers think here is maybe Odaiba. Full of 4 lane roads, but because there's space, they tacked on separate bike lanes there. As the video says, bikes are great for going up to 5km, anything over that will probably take you onto a trunk road and all of the above problems. Also, it's horrible to ride between the end of May and end of September, because the heat and humidity just destroys all pleasure from going outdoors. Having said all that, they cycling roads along the big riverbanks are lovely, they do take you to places (Arakawa goes from near Asakusa/Ueno all the way to Kawagoe for example), and riding at night on weekends in the city is very cool because there's much less traffic and Tokyo still looks like it came out of Blade Runner. Great video sir!

Here in Germany I do most things on foot or by bus or tram. I have a bike that I sometimes use for grocery stores further away. Before I moved to a bigger city, I lived in a rural area with bad public transport connections and no grocery store reachable on foot. I used my bike way more then than I do here now.

Tokyo is much better for biking than Vancouver. I don't understand the ranking placing Tokyo only two levels above Vancouver. The results of the study clearly show that there is a disconnect between the data and the actual usability of biking in each city. North American cities prioritize cars and bike paths are added on, with no safety measures in place. In Tokyo, streets and public spaces prioritize walking and bicycles. Cars don't assume they own the road, like they do here in Vancouver. I felt much, much safer biking in Tokyo when I lived there than here in Vancouver any day. That cycling study is bunk.

better than 98% of cities in the US atleast. as someone who biked over 15km in Tokyo before and in other cities around japan I can definitely say that Japan overall is very bicycle friendly and I love that you can bike through sidewalks in most places. With just a bicycle and train commute you can access over 90% of all the areas in central Tokyo with ease. The rental bikes are ubiquitous and I find it much more fun to tour tokyo by bike than by walking

I live in Tokyo and regularly use my bike for trips of up to 70km. Having previously only lived in major US cities, I consider Tokyo an amazing city for cycling. I recognize there are things that can make it better for individuals like me who travel further than average across the city, but I think for most people just crossing their local neighborhood it's great.

Japan shows you don't need bike lanes if your train system is excellent. America should take note as bike trails are basically impractical for mobility in hot weather.

Hi! I grew up in Athens, Greece a city where biking in the city is a life threatening activity (at least was ca 10 years ago) and now live in Stockholm, Sweden which is a very bike friendly city imo, with mostly separated bike lanes as part of the sidewalk and where most cyclists stay within the bike lane. I visited Tokyo recently for the first time and was surprised by the fact that cycling on the (quite often very slim) side walks was this common. What was even more surprising was the way that cyclists were passing by quite fast and aggressively close to pedestrians. Agree though that biking among pedestrians on smaller streets worked ok.

Great video, very relaxing despite listing the issues ... Florida is eons behind!

My city didn’t make the list, and I’m not surprised. I live in New York, and while it’s one of the more bike friendly cities in America, that isn’t saying much.

Oh boy, can't wait for the cycling video in Osaka