PRE-DEPARTURE; I have secured a bike

I just wanted to update with what may sound silly, but: I have secured a bike for while I am in Japan! Yay!

I just heard from my friend studying in Nara that he is leaving me his bike and rice cooker since he will be leaving as I am coming into Nara in the fall.


If you want you can check out my friend Eric's YouTube channel where he has videos from his time abroad in Nara and surrounding areas: Eric's channel


I am really excited to have a bike since walking, biking, and buses are a very relied on source of transport in the area. My goal in this was that not only do I love bikes, but also it would save me money by not really using the bus.

Cars and trains are also forms of transport, and from what I hear cars are used more in the Nara area than in the metro areas like Tokyo and Osaka, but less trains than Tokyo.

My plan was to get a bike as soon as I got to Japan and had a  Japanese friend keeping an eye out for me. I know how to plan my meals and shop often so as to be able to carry groceries home easily as I will have to do in Nara, but I wonder if my fellow 2 students going to Nara know this?

I absolutely love to cook from 'scratch'  which I have found to be much more financially savvy anywhere, but I know how tempting the Japanese konbini (convenience stores) can be. They have everything from stuffed rice balls, delicious milk, bento lunches and more, they take convenience stores seriously. 

Here's a video I found from BrotherAnnie who talks a little bit about them: Konbini


In honor of my bike acquisition I have a video of Japanese bikes from my time in Tokyo: Sendagi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo