Post by Perry on Aug 7, 2011 1:41:32 GMT -5
Ok, as the resident biker here in Kagoshima, I have been asked to write a little bit about riding and owning a motorbike in Japan. Firstly and most importantly is the issue of licensing. Japanese motorbikes are broken up into two separate classes; 中型(chuugata: Medium-type, 400cc and under) and 大型(oogata: Large-type any- thing over 400cc). As most of you will be initially coming here on an International license this restricts you to riding only the small and medium-type models. The upside to this is that anything under 250cc doesn’t require you to have 車検 (shaken: bike/ car inspection) although I actually think this is a disadvantage as putting your bike through shaken means that the mechanic will perform a comprehensive inspection of your bike. However if you are mechanically minded and can do your own regular check-ups then perhaps it would be economically better to ride something under 250cc. When changing your license over you will need some sort of proof that your license from your own country is unrestricted if you wish to get an oogata license (JAF will translate this information when they translate your license but I still had to sweet-talk/convince the guy at the licensing cen- tre into giving me an unrestricted license as Australian licenses aren’t as specific in regard to class types). I per- sonally don’t know much about the test as I am an Aussie and therefore didn’t have to take it, but if it is any- thing like the driving tests that some of the JETs have had to take, then you are going to have to learn to ride a motorbike Japanese style (i.e. lots of silly rules that don’t apply to real-life situations). As far as insurance goes, it is basically the same as car insurance over here and I encourage you to at least get the type that covers both you and any people/ vehicles involved in accident (make sure you check exactly what you plan covers when you purchase it) because you don’t want to be paying other people’s bills.
Ok, now onto the advantages and disadvantages of riding a bike in Japan. I don’t own a car so I can only speak from my own experiences but the first major benefit is the cost of running and maintaining a bike. For starters, your annual vehicle tax (that you pay to your municipality) is significantly cheaper, you can afford to run your bike on high octane, shaken (even for larger bikes) is almost half of that of a car and if you are riding a Japanese bike the initial cost, as well as spare/custom parts etc., is going to be a lot cheaper than in your own country. Tolls on the highways are cheaper (not an issue if you have an ETC on your bike) and all of your friends are go- ing to be extremely jealous of you when you go island hopping and can afford to take your baby with you (look up the cost of taking a regular vehicle to say somewhere like Yakushima). Also as with most countries, riding a bike allows you to meet people and make new friends. The Japanese people love motorbikes and Kagoshima/ Kyushu is one of the more popular riding spots in Japan meaning that if you are out riding on the weekend you are almost guaranteed to meet other people on bikes (especially if you are riding on popular routes like the 269 down to 佐多岬 (CapeSata) and 99.9% of the time they are going to want to talk to you.
As far as disadvantages go it is going to be pretty much the same as your home country (lack of storage, riding in extreme weather conditions, dealing with other vehicles on the road etc.) although if you are like me your bike is going to be wrapped up in a big cover for around a month during the rainy season and you will either be walking everywhere or ringing all your friends who own cars.
I am not going to waste space here putting down the drivers of Japan (don’t worry you will hear it enough from your JET peers) and while I do try to keep an open mind, sometimes it is difficult to predict what they are going to do on the road. My advice would be to keep your distance and ride with even more caution than would in your home country (especially in rural areas where there are lots of little side streets/old people driving and almost no traffic lights).
Finally if you do end up purchasing a bike, get in contact with me (Nathan Bastian), as I will definitely be keen to go riding together and show you some of the awesome places that this prefecture has to offer.
-Nathan Bastin
Ok, now onto the advantages and disadvantages of riding a bike in Japan. I don’t own a car so I can only speak from my own experiences but the first major benefit is the cost of running and maintaining a bike. For starters, your annual vehicle tax (that you pay to your municipality) is significantly cheaper, you can afford to run your bike on high octane, shaken (even for larger bikes) is almost half of that of a car and if you are riding a Japanese bike the initial cost, as well as spare/custom parts etc., is going to be a lot cheaper than in your own country. Tolls on the highways are cheaper (not an issue if you have an ETC on your bike) and all of your friends are go- ing to be extremely jealous of you when you go island hopping and can afford to take your baby with you (look up the cost of taking a regular vehicle to say somewhere like Yakushima). Also as with most countries, riding a bike allows you to meet people and make new friends. The Japanese people love motorbikes and Kagoshima/ Kyushu is one of the more popular riding spots in Japan meaning that if you are out riding on the weekend you are almost guaranteed to meet other people on bikes (especially if you are riding on popular routes like the 269 down to 佐多岬 (CapeSata) and 99.9% of the time they are going to want to talk to you.
As far as disadvantages go it is going to be pretty much the same as your home country (lack of storage, riding in extreme weather conditions, dealing with other vehicles on the road etc.) although if you are like me your bike is going to be wrapped up in a big cover for around a month during the rainy season and you will either be walking everywhere or ringing all your friends who own cars.
I am not going to waste space here putting down the drivers of Japan (don’t worry you will hear it enough from your JET peers) and while I do try to keep an open mind, sometimes it is difficult to predict what they are going to do on the road. My advice would be to keep your distance and ride with even more caution than would in your home country (especially in rural areas where there are lots of little side streets/old people driving and almost no traffic lights).
Finally if you do end up purchasing a bike, get in contact with me (Nathan Bastian), as I will definitely be keen to go riding together and show you some of the awesome places that this prefecture has to offer.
-Nathan Bastin
