According to an interview in the Huffington Post (Japan), Tokyo has but 9 kilometers (5.5 miles) of bike lanes.
9!
That is in one of the world's great cities, in one of the wealthiest countries in the world - and in an area almost completely dependent on its power needs from nuclear plants in rural areas outside the city like Fukushima.
One of the major issues of this Sunday's Tokyo gubernatorial election for the powerful position of head of Tokyo is energy. A former Prime Minister, Morihiro Hosokawa, has jumped into the race - backed by yet another former PM, Junichiro Koizumi - and pledges to shut down all nuclear power plants.
Yet, no major plans in the city's bicycle infrastructure have been discussed.
In comparison, two smaller suburban cities not far from the capital are leading the way in bike lane construction.
Chiba City, a commuter town east of Tokyo, has 300 kilometers (186 miles) of dedicated lanes.
To the west, Saitama City has 200 kilometers (124 miles) of lanes in place.
We would guess that Kyoto has around the same amount of lanes in terms of distance as Tokyo.
Perhaps 10 km?
© CycleKyoto.com
Tags Japan Touring Kyoto Cycle Japanese
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