CycleKyoto HP LInk

Friday, December 7, 2012

Transparency International Corruption Index 2012 Japan

Kyoto Patrol Carトランスペアレンシー・ジャパン(TI-J)は、国際的に汚職・腐敗防止のために活動する

In Transparency International's annual Corruption Index, Japan placed 17th, ranking with the UK and USA.

Within Asia, only Singapore and Hong Kong placed higher.

1 Denmark 90
1 Finland 90
1 New Zealand 90
4 Sweden 88
5 Singapore 87
6 Switzerland 86
7 Australia 85
7 Norway 85
9 Canada 84
9 Netherlands 84
11 Iceland 82
12 Luxembourg 80
13 Germany 79
14 Hong Kong 77
15 Barbados 76
16 Belgium 75
17 Japan 74
17 United Kingdom 74
17 USA 74

45 Korea (South) 56

80 China 39

Tokyo Police BicycleKeeping this in mind, we hope no pray for a open debate about transportation and energy policy in the next week as we head toward elections on December 16.

Product of the Day

Extra 15% off on Lights and Reflectives
Code: 15LIGHTS
Start date: 04/12/2012 14:00 GMT
End date: 11/12/2012 14:00 GMT

© CycleKyoto.com

CycleKyoto Home Page

Tags

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Japanese Emperor and Empress Visit Manshuin Temple Kyoto

Shugakuin Imperial Villa曼殊院 紅葉に感嘆 両陛下入洛

The Japanese Royal Couple spent a day in Kyoto recently.

The Emperor Hirohito and Empress boarded a special Shinkansen bullet train from Tokyo Station and rode to Kyoto.

There they were taken to Manshuin Temple, which is in the northeast of the city not far from Shugakuin Villa, which is pictured above.

The royal couple were in Kyoto on December 3 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the death of the Meiji Emperor, the last emperor to be born in Kyoto and the grandfather of Hirohito.

After an afternoon of looking at leaves, they headed to the Kyoto Imperial Palace (below) where they enjoyed tea before heading back to Tokyo.


Kyoto Gosho© CycleKyoto.com

Product of the Day

Extra 15% off on Lights and Reflectives
Code: 15LIGHTS
Start date: 04/12/2012 14:00 GMT
End date: 11/12/2012 14:00 GMT

CycleKyoto Home Page

Tags

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Kyoto Live Music Jittoku Folk Club

Jittoku拾得の恒例

The venerable Kyoto folk club Jittoku is still banging along at age 40.

It is housed in an old ramshackle warehouse that, thanks to the club, has avoided the wrecking ball.

Founded around 1973, at the height of the folk boom in Japan, it still puts on live music almost every night of the week.

Located in Nishijin, north of Nijo Castle, in an old atmospheric part of Kyoto we liken to a "gothic quarter," Jittoku is large and smoky and a fun night out.

Information

Located on Omiya Dori south of Shimodachiuri
075 841 1691


Product of the Day

Running Goods
15% off Run products, when you spend 10,200 Yen
Code: RUN15

© CycleKyoto.com CycleKyoto Home Page

Tags

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Commuting by Bike or on Foot in Kyoto World Commute

ワールドコミュート

CycleKyoto is now using a great site called World Commute to keep track of miles/kilometers, gas saved, money saved, carbon offset, and "health Points."

Once you have registered, all you do is enter the way you traveled (walk, bike, run, skate, other), select the reason (to and from work, etc.), and then type in the number of kilometers or miles depending on your settings. Then you hit "post." In a single day, one can post up to six times.

World Commute is sponsored by CatEye, the Osaka-based manufacturer of bicycle lights.

It bills itself as "a not-for-profit, free social-network website to encourage, promote and track the use of non-motorized transportation around the world. We promote the idea of “Greater Health. Healthier Environment” through a unified effort of individuals engaging in physical activity for transportation purposes. The site allows users to create a profile and record non-motorized trips including daily commutes to work or school and “taking care of business” trips to the store, coffee shop, etc. Because we also want to promote physical health through activity, users can also record recreational and fitness activities scoring “health points.” Even though a run at lunch may not contribute to reduced carbon emissions, it is physical activity that promotes a healthier individual."

World Commute is free and available in six languages: English, Japanese, French, German, Spanish, and Chinese.


* Health Points = Activity score based on type of human-powered transportation multiplied by the number of miles completed. All miles logged contribute towards health points.

Activity score for commute to work or school, Taking Care of Business Miles, and Recreational/Social as follows:
Walking = 3
Cycling & Other = 4
Skate = 5
Run = 6
All types of fitness activities = 7

For example:

Bike Commute (activity score = 4) × 10 miles = 40 Health Points
Fitness bike ride (activity score = 7) × 20 miles = 140 Health Points


Product of the Day

dhb Luggit Blok 18L Messenger Bag
List price £32.99
SAVE 30% = £9.90
Your Wiggle price: £23.09



© CycleKyoto.com CycleKyoto Home Page

Tags

Monday, December 3, 2012

Fall Tourist Season in Kyoto Over (Yeah!)

Bus Tour Kagoshima京都秋の観光シーズンはもう終わり(ようやく。。。)

The fall colors and temple viewing season officially ended today in Kyoto.

And none too soon.

Twice a year, Kyoto is overrun - colonized - by fume-spewing tour buses the size of aircraft carriers. They disgorge hopelessly confused tourists by the thousands.

They came, they took pictures, they looked up from their maps and iPhones - and now they are gone.

Until late March when the cherry trees blossom.

Cycling during the last three weekends has been trying at best, but now for a bit of smooth and cold sailing.

Full disclosure: the bus pictured above is in Kagoshima, not Kyoto.

Product of the Day

Continental Grand Prix 4000s Tyres and Tubes Bundle
List price £110.85
SAVE 41% = £45.85
Your Wiggle price: £65.00


© CycleKyoto.com

CycleKyoto Home Page Tags

Sunday, December 2, 2012

World Cycling News 2 December 2012

tofu seller bike kyoto今週のサイクリング2012年12月02日

Envisioning a network of bike paths in Bucks
County Philadelphia Inquirer

Greg LeMond joins Change Cycling Now to clean up the sport BBC

How likely is it that central London will become a 20mph zone? London Cyclist

Voyage à vélo - Vietnam Vélo Québec

Which really is more deadly: cycling or sitting down watching TV? Guardian

Necesito un coche El Pais

自転車通勤、飲んだらチャリタク 全国に3千台以上 Asahi Shinbun

Northern cities show the future of urban bike travel The Times of London

UCI set to open doping hotline Yahoo

Last Week's Cycling News


© CycleKyoto.com

CycleKyoto Home Page

Tags





Saturday, December 1, 2012

Bicycle Book Review The Bike Book

book-cover書評「The Bicycle Book」

The Bicycle Book is as good as it gets.

Two wheels. A frame. Two pedals. What could be simpler than a bicycle? Indeed, indeed.

As the back cover reads: "And yet the bike – old, and cheap, and slightly comic – continues to inspire a passionate following. Since the millennium its use in Britain has doubled, and then doubled again. Thousands now cycle to work, and more take it up every day. In trial after trial, it is the bike which reaches its urban destination faster than the car, the bus, the underground or the pedestrian. Self-reliant and straightforward, cycling has recycled itself. It is an antiquated idea, and its time has finally come."

Acclaimed writer Bella Bathurst takes us on a journey through some of cycling's best stories and strangest incarnations, from the bicycle as a weapon of twentieth-century warfare to the secret and thrilling life of couriers and the secrets of framebuilding.

The result is a story of passion and obsession, of exultation, endeavour, and risk. Above all, it is the story of partnership between man and machine, perfectly balanced – a story of love and souplesse.

At last – a bicycle book for the rest of us… a book for the sort of cyclist who likes cycling and reading and stories…’ Guardian

‘The bicycle is the most popular form of transport on the planet… With The Bicycle Book, Bathurst adds her voice to the call that we are now at the dawn of a new golden age of this versatile machine.’ Observer

Buy on Amazon USA


Product of the Day

dhb Luggit Blok 18L Messenger Bag
List price £32.99
SAVE 30% = £9.90
Your Wiggle price: £23.09


© CycleKyoto.com

CycleKyoto Home Page

Tags