Bike trailer

(I guessI didn't have as much time as I wanted to create this blog....)

My family brought over this Trail-A-Bike from America. I think we may be one of the few people in Japan to have one! It is quite cool and every one stops what they are doing to check it out. Someone we know took this picture and put it on her blog (she blocked out our faces for privacy - it would have been ok....)

Anyway, this shows a big difference between the States and Japan. In the US, cycling is for fun and people have "toys" like this. (Though this is changing is progressive citeis liek Portland.)

In Japan, cycling is largely a way of transportation, so most seats are attached to the bike for safety. We use this bike for transportation purposes (though it is also fun!). Toma is too big to ride on a normal child seat, and not steady enough to ride his own bike through traffic. We ride this to the train station when we go on a day trip. Mom and the two little kids ride on the other bike with 2 child seats. (The station is a 12 minute walk or a 3-5 minute bike ride.)

Kio also rides this with me to pre-school. Since I can attach this to my normal bike with gears and since Kio can help pedal, it is easier and faster than our bike with a child seat.