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JimDunlop2 · Joined: 31 Jan 2003 Posts: 2286 Location: Japan

Machida to downtown Tokyo.. mmmm... Well, letsee. The Costco I visit is TECHNICALLY in Machida (although I would consider it to be in Hachioji)... And by local roads it takes me on average 1.5hours to get downtown by car. I would consider such a trip unpleasant using ANY form of transportation if I had to do it every day... For that I would be considering the trains (at least part of the time)...

But specifically to answer your question: no. There is nothing to physically prevent you or block you from making that trip by scooter or 50cc bike. If you don"t mind the local roads, and whitelining to beat the traffic... (My wife get freaked out doing it, but I don't care -- I've been cycling a road bike on highway shoulders way too long to get scared that way).

Also, NO, you do not need a parking space for a scooter.

Just as an FYI, if you DID get your motorbike license in JPN and bought a larger bike, OR if you decided on a car, the alternative to local roads are the toll roads: The Shuto expressway costs at least 700 yen anyway (for a car) and only runs in metro Tokyo. If I want to take the expressway from Hachioji, I get onto the Chuo, pay 600 yen from that exit to the Takaido exit, then after that it turns into the Shuto (#4). So one way it costs 1300 yen. A pricy way to save an hour travel time... But I do it sometimes if I'm in a hurry. For me, Tokyo is usually a day trip so I try to make the most of every minute before I head back out to Kofu (Yamanashi pref.)

P.S. If you don't mind dropping the extra cash, for about 85,000 you can get a used Honda Cub. They are kinda a hybrid bike/scooter -- hard to know how to define em... All I know is they're completely INDESTRUCTIBLE! They'd survive a nuclear war I'm sure... My friend has one and it's a nice little beast.....

JimDunlop2 · Joined: 31 Jan 2003 Posts: 2286 Location: Japan

Ok... I spoke to the ozzies and here's what they told me. Motorbikes don't need parking, but anything over 250cc requires shaken.... Which, apparently is no less expensive than for your average car! Ouch! Also, all motorbikes do have applicable road taxes...

Cheers,

JD

Sheep-Goats · Joined: 16 Apr 2004 Posts: 527

[quote="SEndrigo"]

easyasabc · Joined: 13 Jul 2003 Posts: 179 Location: Japan

JimDunlop2 · Joined: 31 Jan 2003 Posts: 2286 Location: Japan

Sheep-Goat: It's really not as bad as that. I am 6'0 and about 185 lbs. )Make that 182cm/84kg for you metric types) and I can go as fast as the next guy on my old 50cc scooter. It's just that you look a little funny is all. I also live in Yamanashi. Kofu is in a valley. We have nothing but hills. Sure, you will definitely slow down going uphill -- but the original poster of this article is referring mainly to Tokyo, which, as far as I can tell, is pretty much as flat as a pancake.

easyabc: no intent to offend you, but to reply to some of your statements... Obviously you don't fit into my category (b) of having no idea, yeah? And the figures you show yourself from your experience more or less jive with mine -- about 20,000 yen a month or 240,000 yen a year.

You've got to understand that a price tag like that may be fine for someone who has been here for seven years, but I've been here for just over one, and there's no way in the world I would have been able to afford that kind of money until recently (and that, thanks to a new, higher paying job)...

I understand what you are saying: in Australia you'd pay the same for keeping a maintaining a car -- but is that really cheap? In Canada I had many cars too, but I wouldn't exactly say I was comfortable paying the money that I was to have it -- it was more a matter of necessity than anything. Many people come to Japan with specific financial goals or obligations back home -- and adopting a similar lifestyle to what they had back home usually means paying similar costs (such as for a car)...

Without getting into any pi$$ing contests with anyone on the forum, one main reason why I'm able to save much more money in Japan than back home is because many of the costs I had in Canada are a non-issue here... The biggest, of course is income tax, but also the foods I eat/buy; how much partying I do on Friday night with my friends at the pub; the number of movies I see in a week, the car I drive, etc, etc, etc.

I think it's probably best to reserve judgment of whether it's cheap or expensive to own a car -- leave that up to everyone's discretion.. But am I really far off in my 20,000 yen a month estimate? (Note, I'm referring to a regular white-plate car).

Finally, in regards to parking: I believe you.... But local city ordinances aside, Japan on average does not regulate parking of bicycles, scooters and motorbikes on a prefectural or national level (not that I'm aware, anyway). Obviously, Hiroshima is a notable exception as you've pointed out. The flip side of the coin is where I live: Kofu, Yamanashi. Here, there are signs downtown: Bicycle parking prohibited. There are no less than 50 bikes and scooters parked in front of every such sign. When I first moved here I took a photo -- just because it was so darned funny...

JimDunlop2 · Joined: 31 Jan 2003 Posts: 2286 Location: Japan

Just a bit of an update: I found some info that contradicts what I said earlier in regards to licensing.

This information comes from the following site:
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Courtyard/3043/scooters.html

Unfortunately, I cannot vouch for this document's age nor accuracy. But anyway, you way wish to rethink getting a bike license in AUS before coming here....

Licence issues:
Firstly, let's clear up the confusion over driving licences and 50cc scooters - unless you hold a dedicated bike licence in your home country, and have that marked on the bike category of an international licence, then you legally can't ride a scooter in Japan. You have several options available to you, if you don't have a bike category international licence:

a) Stupid gaijin excuse - this is to be used at your own peril! It has been heard of for foreigners to claim ignorance when stopped for speeding or other offences, and for the police to drop the matter as being too much hassle (i.e. translation problems). You really shouldn't expect to ever be that lucky!

b) Upgrade an international licence to a Japanese one - you're probably aware that the standard car driving licence of your country normally includes a concession to ride a 50cc motorised bike. The Japanese standard driving licence also includes such a concession. The international licence (probably due to a dumb error) doesn't include any such concession. You can swap an existing licence from your home country to a standard Japanese licence simply by paying money to the national licence agency. However you may be required to take a standard driving test too! UK licence holders are exempt from this, but Americans must take the test (presumably because they drive on the right-hand side). To swap your licence to a Japanese one you should seek help from our supervisors, but basically what you should need are evidence of foreign residency (not your gaijin card, but a special print out version available from City Hall for about 300 yen), a translation of your home country licence provided by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF - located in between Mihagino and Jono) for a few thousand yen, and some more money when you visit the driving test centre (behind Kitakyushu University). Beware - the desk dealing with issuing new licences is only open for a couple of hours a day, around lunch time! They will direct you to a desk selling special stamps. In total, it should cost somewhere around 5000 to 7000 yen (more if you have more categories on your licence).

c) Take a scooter driving test - this is apparently a quick and painless event, involving a very brief test to check that you can start, stop, turn, etc., and the compulsory eye test, after which you will be issued with a shiny new Japanese driving licence limiting you to ride 50cc scooters. Note that unlike the standard car test, this scooter test is only available in Japanese, so you'll need some basic Japanese to get you through.

Note that should you ever be involved in a major accident (i.e. an insurance claims accident) in which it becomes evident you don't hold a valid licence, you may get into real trouble. Certainly any insurance you own will become invalid too.