For the last few weeks I have been living and doing research in rural Japan. Japan is well known for high-speed rail, jam-packed commuter trains, and big, well-connected cities.
I am not living in a place with any of those things. Two years ago when I spent time outside of Tokyo, I was. It was a 5 minute walk to the nearest train station, with two more within 20 minutes of that. From there I could get practically anywhere. No need for a car. I never even had to use the bus save for one or two special trips.
Well, rural Japan is a bit different. Google Maps Japan defaults to route instructions for public transit, but most of the places I am going give a warning “no public transit to this location.” There is a train station about 10 minutes from here, as well as a tram station.
The tram will get you anywhere in town, but doesn’t go much outside of that. The train station, which is currently under construction for the forthcoming high-speed rail line, will take you to destinations 20 to 50 miles away.
Kind of a pain. That’s why more people have cars around here than other places in Japan. So what have I done to avoid renting a car to get around to all the places I’ve been going?
Lots of cycling. At 90-130 kilometers per day (when I’m travelling), this is quite a lot of cycling indeed. It may be a pain, but it has made the area a lot more accessible than it otherwise would have been, even without a car.
Coming soon: A cyclist’s guide to commuting in rural Japan.
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It’s a bit ironic, though, that Japan has the busiest traffic set-up in the world when they are the most popular country to practice Zen Nihilism and attack of the substance of the material.
Actually, the Buddhist tradition is much stronger in other counties, ie Burma, Vietnam, etc. Buddhist monks have big cars like everyone else :p