Cherry Tree in Takao

2008-04-04

I took the kids to the park today and shot this picture. While we were there I saw a rare sight. This is a nation of bicycle riders, so it's strange how few bicycle accidents I've seen. Considering sidewalks crowded with pedestrians, mothers with multiple children on board pedaling on slippery sidewalks in the rain, young people sending instant messages on their cell phones as they ride, and a noted tendency not to slow down or yield -- it's really amazing to me how they all slide past one another without a bump 99.99 percent of the time. Sometimes I think Japanese people have a sixth sense (or magnetic force field around them) that protects them. But today an "ojiisan" (grandfather) rode his bicycle off the embankment next to the river and plunged more than ten feet down the steeply sloping, concrete wall. I didn't see it happen but noticed when the ambulance arrived. It looked potentially serious, but I think he was okay (conscious and moving a little). They loaded him on a gurney and left, and some policemen stayed to take the customary measurements of anything and everything that could be measured.