Tokyo 2 Wheels
Transportation is always one of the most crucial aspects of people’s lives and in many ways, their cultures. Various methods of transport helps propel daily needs and the economy. This is probably the reason why modes of transport in different places always fascinate us — what do people use to get around? How are goods transported from warehouses to shops? It is always interesting to observe these particulars and we can, with quite confidence, say that in terms of variety and uniqueness in transport: Tokyo has got to be one the most fascinating places for transport-spotting.
This particular photoblog we look at the many types of transport that is essentially based on 2 wheels (yes you will see some that are actually 3-wheeled but in our minds they share more design genetics with 2 wheels than with 4 wheels). Before the pandemic we’ve visited Tokyo several times and in each trip we find ourselves always with a collection of interesting, funky, memorable 2-wheeled sights. This is a collection of them which we will definitely update and make future parts when we are able to travel back to Tokyo. Let’s start the show!
As you can see, like in many other cities Tokyo has a fair share of bicycle users which is always a pretty great option to go around. We saw people using bicycles just for leisure or sport, but also noticed that some office workers would also use bikes even in full business attire! Seems like low humidity and in some seasons this would be more feasible than others as otherwise you would be soaked in sweat even before getting to the office! Let’s continue where we also found some pretty cool looking bikes including fixies.
It was also cool to see various sights of Tokyo residents being on the bikes and just living their casual daily lives — there is something quite serene about it and also reminds us a bit on some scenes or b-rolls in anime series. We always love the pastel hues that is Tokyo.
Glad you are still with us! Now we move on to the motorcycle category and here we see some very unique forms of 2 or even 3 wheeled transportation options. If you’re from Indonesia, then you will know how large of an influence the Japanese have over its motorcycle culture. From the days of our parents and even grandparents — they mainly only know major Japanese brands if you want to buy quality motorcycles. This maybe due to the fact that Japanese motorcycle options is able to really hit that utilitarian mark: functional, built to last, easy to maintain, and overall cheap to purchase. Motorcycles are able to reach places and people that other forms of transport might not be able to. In a city where there is no functioning public transport: motorcycles is there. Where people can’t always afford (or do not want to be stuck hours in traffic jams) cars: motorcycles is there. Even now in an age of ride-hailing apps, possibly the quickest option to whiz about a city like Jakarta is in a motorcycle. It was pretty awesome to see Japanese motorbikes in its natural habitat — extra awesome to see models that is very rare in other countries.
Similar to the bicycle section, here’s a few sights of Tokyo residents out and about on their motorbikes. It was really enjoyable to observe through our walks the different types of motorbikes and the people who use them — some very utilitarian and some very stylish.
And that’s the end for now. Hope you enjoyed all 80 photos that was captured over 3 trips spanning around 2 years. We are definitely looking to make part 2 and even part 3 of these photo essays — and maybe include other forms of transportation and also other countries and cities we visit in the future! In the meantime, hope you had fun looking at the documentation we made on Tokyo 2 wheeled transport during our walks in 2018 and 2019. Thanks!
