Monday September 8th, 2008 | Posted in Tokyo Shock X-Change | No Comments

One thing I didn’t know about before coming to Japan, was just how many appliances, cars etc. are Japan only. The coolest of the bunch has to be the elongated bikes the bosouzoku wannabes and cool couples roll around on. I’ve managed to get a few pictures of bikes like these over the last few weeks.

Only-in-Japan Scooters and Motorbikes

You often see tiny girls in Shibuya tearing down side streets on bikes like this. It’s pretty amazing the way they handle them.

Only-in-Japan Scooters and Motorbikes

They’re definitely much larger than anything of this kind in the UK, and they’re often very loud, and sound maybe like some of them are extremely powerful, with a deep, slow-revving engine noise. Of course, people supe them up to no end, attching neons, mirrors and additional speakers, etc.

Only-in-Japan Scooters and Motorbikes

Actually, I really want one. I don’t have a Japanese driving license at the moment, but once I’ve been here a little longer, I’ve got to make it happen!

Only-in-Japan Scooters and Motorbikes

I mean, how cool is this red one, with someone’s tag scrawled on the front wing? Slightly reminiscent of Akira I would say. The whole fashion surrounding these bikes relates to the impression I get that somehow, Tokyo and motorbikes are inextricably linked.

 

Leave a Reply

Stephen David Smith is a multimedia designer and web designer currently based in tokyo.  When he's not scripting interactive environments in Flash or designing usability for websites, he's down the arcade playing Taiko no Tatsujin or creating animation and music on his laptop. He's influenced by the Japanese aesthetic sensibilities, as well as the 'throw-away' nature of modern Japanese popular culture.
stephendavidsmith.net. © Copyright 2008-2012 Stephen David Smith. All rights reserved. Apple Wordpress RSS flickr