"John W." wrote:

> Michael Gira wrote:
>  > What are the road rules regarding bicycles in Japan?
>  >
>  > I'm used to riding on the road and following all the road rules
>  > regarding stopping, signalling, giving way, etc. Back home
>  > (Australia), the road rules treat cyclists exactly the same as any
>  > other road user, and cyclists are forbidden from using the footpath.
>  >
>  > So far I've had no problems doing this here, or at least no more than
>  > I would have had back home - these usually take the form of people
>  > who see red at the very idea of a bike taking its place in the
>  > traffic.
>  >
> I always rode the same way I did in the US, with common sense and an
> assumption that I'm the only person on the road with any.

Where I come from, it is illegal to ride a bicycle on the sidewalk within
600 feet of a business district.

Which is practically anywhere in town.

Apparently the opposite thinking from Japan.

> Having said that, I once wound up on a freeway by mistake. The road just
> became a freeway. Hard to explain.

You missed seeing the toll gate going in?

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