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Hi everyone,
Hanz Scholz, Bike Friday co-founder, and I had a great time with the Bike Friday community in Japan in November. At the Annual Japan BF Homecoming in Kyoto, 50 of us (1/3 women this year!) rode the back streets and river paths of Kyoto, stopping at the old imperial palace grounds, temples, through bamboo groves, and along the rivers; plus an early morning a hill climb overlooking the ancient capitol, part of it a 25% grade (only Hanz made it all the way on his super-PTA). You should have seen the people doing a double take at the long parade of Bike Fridays--especially the SatRDays!
At the evening dinner kneeling at low tables in a traditional restaurant, (Mr. Ito, Bike Friday dealer from Osaka came, too) all eyes were on Hanz and his 16-inch plum, titanium-spoked PTA. Everyone leaned forward and took videos of him folding and unfolding it and close-ups as well. We extracted a promise that they would not show pictures of it (yet) on their websites. Several wanted to buy it on the spot!
Japan Bike Friday owner, nicknamed "@nak," has put together a WONDERFUL report of the Kyoto Meeting on his website in English--thank you, @nak-san!
The following week in Tokyo, Bike Friday owner Miki-san took us on a fascinating tour of the old parts of the metropolis, past traditional houses, shopping streets, gardens, museums, and a former public bath house converted to an art gallery (displaying--what else--paintings of women bathing). Dinner was at a Japanese style pub kneeling on tatami mats, where the food cooked at low tables, and the sashimi and drinks and conversation flowed into the night.
At the 3-day annual Tokyo Intl Cycle Show, Nov. 19-21, a steady crowd came to our tiny BF booth (behind Shimano's mammoth display, next to Alex Rims of Taiwan) to oooh and aah over our 8-kg Crusoe (half the weight of the Dahons, Birdys and other folding bike displays), the TiLite tandem, and the Dura Ace sapphire&black fade Pocket Rocket Pro with smooth fillet brazing, displayed on a table. A photographer from CYCLE SPORTS, premier cycling magazine in Japan, had Hanz pose holding the Pro up with one finger. This was published in the December issue as part of a report on the Cycle Show.
During the 3 days of the show, more than 300 people who stopped by Bike Friday's booth filled out questionnaires and write down contact information in exchange for a Japanese catalog (that should keep Jun Kataoka and his new assistant "Man-san" (Mr. Yoshida), who is also webmaster for BikeFriday.jp, busy selling bikes for the next 6 months).
I hope someday you can meet the Japan BF community--they are some of the most loyal and passionate about their Bike Fridays and the community. The word is spreading in Japan--many people are looking for a premium. custom folding bike and willing to pay for it. (No, I wasn't brainwashed to write this). As Hanz said in the airplane coming back, "The BF community in Japan is awesome"--(I'm sure it's eqully true of the Bike Friday communities in Australia, New Zealand, Germany,...)
Here are some of my pictures from the trip. To help you plan your Japan trip, have a look at Living Abroad in Japan (available for $17.95(+shipping) from Bike Friday, call 1-800-777-0258 or email japan@bikefriday.com).
Emailable link to this article: http://www.bikefriday.com/bf/japan2004