Rent-a-bicycle
2013年07月07日
Rent-a-bicycle
I must have passed these a few times, but never took the time to go over and see what they were?
A vending machine for bicycles and with English instructions. They’re really quite simple to use.
There are now 4 throughout the Takamatsu City downtown area and the bicycles are stored below ground.
One machine holds around 140 bicycles. Two machines are close to the very center of the city in Hyogo machi
First, we select the size of the bicycle and pay 100 yen into the machine, which gives us a token.
We can then ride around the city for a few hours and return the bicycles along with a 100-yen refund. Nothing could be simpler.
Put the token back into the machine and the 100 is refunded. The initiative is twofold; reduce the number of people driving cars around the city and also to ease the congestion of bicycles often left blocking shops entrances.
My very first impression of Takamatsu was that this was a city that encouraged bicycles and there are thousands and thousands of them being pedaled around each day. This is wonderful and how China used to be until they discovered cars and motorways.
So please remember these machines are for everybody, they’re easy to use and the instructions are also in English.
I’ll be back talking about bicycles again this month. Such a sensible and healthy way to travel.
See you then and happy pedaling.
http://wikitravel.org/en/Takamatsu
http://www.city.takamatsu.kagawa.jp/english/
"Pat has lived in Takamatsu continuously since arriving here on a one year study and leave 1981. Originally from Tasmania, Australia, he was involved in education at a variety of levels including as a specialist teacher for children with learning difficulties, and at senior high schools throughout the state. Pat is employed full-time by the i-pal Kagawa International Exchange as a co-oridintaor for international relations amongst other duties including traveling to schools and giving talks in Japanese to kids about Australia. He has been involved with youth education exchanges between Japan and Australia for many years.
Pat has been many things in his colorful life including a seaman, helmsman, welder, carpenter, traffic warden, scholarship/studentship winner at the university of Tasmania, staff at the Australian Embassy in London to name but a few. Pat has far too many hobbies which include tennis, playing jazz flutes and saxes, riding bicycles with the Takamatsu Cycling Club all of which his long-suffering family tolerate. Recently he's become interested in painting again. His wife wishes he would put more time in to helping around the house and the garden which he artfully avoids ..."
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Posted by pat at 12:24
