Good morning Tokyo. What you see is definitely the preferred method of transport, unless you are in my neighbourhood where the hills are not bicycle friendly. Note the difference in bike riders, one gear, no protective padding on any part of the body and complete respect for traffic lights. Yes, they ride on the sidewalks so the only risk are the inconsiderate pedestrians who walk four across. On hills, you just get off and walk up, but the downhills are great. as for us, we walk a lot. Good news, the pain is minimal.

Piki and I are still in tourist mode. Our routine is exciting since each day we have managed to explore a new part of this city. Yesterday, Ueno park or rather a small corner of it was on the radar. In reality, we were looking for an eel restaurant recommended by the Frommer guide. The best landmark noted in the book was "next to KFC". That is truly important since there is not one letter in English or other readable language to let us know where we are. Yes, they did have a readable menu. Great food. In addition to magnificent museums and the concert hall, this area is also well populated by the homeless of Tokyo. Near to the park we stumbled onto a wild market area which we left for another time. Even we, do not have limitless energy.

Casual observation. The number of western tourists is quite small. There were some lost souls on the Ginza (we must go back tonight), but generally tourism appears to be Asian.

Have a great day.