*GALFROMDOWNUNDER IN JAPAN* tikiting around Tokyo and beyond

IN A LAND of little wheeled bikes boldly labeled Hummer, Chevrolet, Louis Garneau and the intriguing "Field Beat" (surely an MTB), you will find some of the fanciest Fridays ever ordered from Eugene.

"Japanese are big on detail," said Jeff Gilbert, my recently transplanted host from NYC. "When a Mercedes is delivered, it is prepared by paining every part of the underbelly black ..."

Ats Nakamura, the Bike Friday Club of Japan leader and organizer of the incredibly useful Cycle Tokyo site, explained why some people who can have it all, choose a Friday.

"People want quality. Although you can buy a thousand different folding bikes, they are impressed by something handbuilt in America."

I POPPED across from evangelizing in Singapore to join in the annual Gathering organized by our very own Japan expert Ruthy Kanagy and our Takasaki dealer Cycletech IKD.

It was my first ever visit to Japan, and I planned to see how far I could get using a Bike Friday tikit on the Shinkansen i.e. "bullet" trains. Expensive jaunts at 207 km/h, bullet trains can whisk you the length and breadth of the country in smooth comfort. 

Non-residents like me can buy a 7-day unlimited Rail Pass prior to entry, and at around $US50 an hour long hop, it can quickly pay for itself. Add a folding bike andyou can go even farther, of course!

Riding with the locals. I jumped in the slipstream Jeff Gilbert as he expertly negotiated the labyrinth of streets to one of many English book stores. 

We rode with local bike club HalfFastCycling.com (see movie and shots) to a convivial multi cuisine BBQ on the southern tip of an island, where a cyclist called Alberto created a minor sensation with his Rowbike (see movie).Pratically everyone was a foreigner in this club, headed by Don Morton, an expat who divides his time between Japan and Arizona. I was pleased to see he used a variant of the 5BBC's point-drop-sweep system because there was no way I could have even hitched my way home.

I spent the next couple of days simply tooling around the "wards" behind Jeff as he traded in pannier loads of books. 

I spied a pachinko parlor, a mindless game akin to pinball but with no skill involved, sweetened by a technically illegal but loosely tolerated payout. This is were some office workers "goof off" according to Jeff. 

Many commerical vehicles have moderate loudspeakers that politely tell you they are about to turn a corner - a good idea for the blind or elderly. 

Another kind of truck with louder loudspeakers are the notorious Uyoku or political right wing extremists, who cruise around in squadrons of painted vans blasting out music and political messages . "They've been known to ram gates of embassies and police barricades - but they largely "just make noise",  said Jeff.  "Ironically, in some public emergency situations they've been one of the first or organize and pitch into in the relief effort ..." said Chris, another cyclist.

Only in Japan, the land where the average business man bows 200-300 times per day, according to my 2004 used copy of Let's Go .. I wonder how many in 2009?

This weekend I'm heading off to the annual Bike Friday Club of Japan gathering in Kaurizawa organized by BF dealer Jun Kataoka at Cycletech-IKD. 

More soon ...  or you can follow my blog