On our way, passed this 'koban' (police box) with the ubiquitous white police bicycles and a little white police motorbike parked out in front. Koban are located in every neighbourhood, and there is usually at least one policeman posted in them. Viewed negatively, you could see them as being part of a police state; on the upside they seem to be more like a guy that's posted in your neighbourhood to help out if anything goes wrong, give directions and ride around on his little white bike to check up on things...
With Tokyo's amazing above- and below-ground rail systems, it's easy to forget that it also has an amazing bus network. They go everywhere, and though they can easily become victims of same the gridlock that cars suffer, they cover routes that are still difficult to do on the rail networks. Today I wanted to go straight down Meiji-dori from Shinjuku towards Ikebukuro, and the 86 bus still does it... This is a shot of the bus, with scooter rider that decided to catch up on his reading while waiting for the light to change!
The bus stops now often have indicators showing how long it will be before the bus comes, as well estimates on the time needed to reach various points ahead on the route. I should have taken some pictures of the inside of the bus, and the machine for taking fares and making change, but it was impossibly crowded.
The postal version of the standard Honda Super Cub, with smaller wheels, lower gearing (I think), and some heavy-duty racks for carrying mail. Overall, they seem to be built better as well...
There are sports versions of lots of the little 'keijidosha' cars in Japan; this one is not an official mini-vehicle because it doesn't have the yellow license plates, but it is very small. Somewhere along the line we got seduced into believing that you have to have big horsepower to have lots of fun with a motor vehicle - it's a lie.
A not particularly good example of the old Honda 250 air-cooled road bike - I can't remember what its exact model name was. It used to be very popular, for lots of good reasons; simple, low-priced, economical to run, and it would take you anywhere. Thought you might enjoy seeing this Dave; it is sort of a smaller, lighter alternative to the Yamaha SR400/500 single, and had a similar, if slightly smaller following. Tons of aftermarket parts too, such as the tank on this particular copy...
Your standard right-wing nut on a van. These guys are almost as common as cockroaches, and when they are not driving the streets ranting through over-amplified microphones, they're parked in front of stations (in this case Shinjuku) reminding they're fellow citizens about the glories of the Fatherland.
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