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Yadoruya is not your typical bicycle shop. The first thing visitors see are many new bicycles on display, so in that sense I suppose it isn’t too novel, but the next thing one might notice is the well-stocked bar – then perhaps the hammocks in the lounge area. There’s even a secret upstairs space.
What is this place? Well, it’s many places, in one. The name has a double meaning: it’s a place to dwell, but also a place to mature. Fashioned as sort of a multipurpose incubator, where budding professionals can hone their craft while at once joining, and being the impetus for, a budding local community.
This is also my Japanese language school. My sensei (teacher), Sasaki Aiko, is an Osaka native with a master’s degree in Japanese instruction. Having lived in Denmark for a couple years, and teaching the full gamut of students in Japan and abroad, she has amassed quite a bit of experience. She also possesses a rare ability to comprehend the meaning behind imperfect sentences, which instills a much-needed confidence in her students – not to mention a desire to spend more time with the target language.
Perhaps due in part to having been on the other side of language study, she is also exceedingly patient and kind, and doesn’t make me feel like a jerk for holding her ears ransom for half an hour as I struggle to communicate with less faculty than her 6-month-old son, Souta.
I bought a bespoke bicycle from her husband, Shikou-san, whose given name translates to “supreme” in English, and belies his humble and relaxed personality. Mr. Supreme does love a bike ride. Once he rode from Tokyo to his hometown in Iwate Prefecture, a round trip of over 1,000 km! Bicycles are obviously his passion; his personal collection was painstakingly assembled from components valuated at a bucketful of man tears.
Fortunately for me, and would-be patrons, he doesn’t demand the same level of financial commitment to see them roll away on a fine bicycle. For the comparatively paltry sum of ¥80,000 ($670, £470) I was able to procure a lovely matte black aluminum Bridgestone. Solid, light, and FAST. I’ve raced bullet trains with this bike. I’m not saying I won, but for a time we were traveling in the same general direction.
Bridgestone is known the world over as a manufacturer of tyres, but few are aware they also make excellent bicycles. The global brand is a translated inverse of the company founder’s name, Ishibashi (in Japanese: Stone Bridge). Also on sale are sleek and affordable British-based Charge cycles, which I’m considering as an addition to my quiver for guests.
Cycling in Japan is very safe compared to most countries. You (usually) don’t need to worry about people steering their automobile with nothing but their pinky toe at three times the speed of sound, but do beware of massive bus and lorry mirrors which obliterate all matter in their path with impunity. It is perfectly legal to ride on the pavement and, curiously, it is considered impolite to alert pedestrians to your presence using the bell included with, and attached to, almost all bicycles found in the country.
Like anywhere, prudence is encouraged with respect to locking one’s bicycle, as two-wheeled vehicles are a glaring exception to the virtual nonexistence of petty crime in the country. Most visitors to Japan remark at the number of bikes without a lock, but what they usually overlook is a clever and subtle spring-loaded sliding mechanism fitted to the rear wheel that renders keyless riders immobile. If you see someone getting on a bicycle without first inserting a key, they are communist. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Shikou-san stocks an assortment of discreet locks, and for a nominal fee, will register bicycles with the police to aid in locating them in the event of capture – legal or otherwise.
Yadoruya is located in the Idogaya neighborhood of Yokohama, about a 10-minute walk from Idogaya Station. Shikou Bicycle Service is available 11am-7pm everyday except Thursday. In addition, sweet tooth afflictions can be alleviated on Mondays and Tuesdays at the cake shop operating from 11am-5pm, and relaxation is provided in the form of massage therapy on the 2nd floor from 12:30pm-7pm.
Also on Tuesdays, from 11am-5pm, a real estate agent will show you properties for rent or sale on bicycle. On Saturdays, there’s a sandwich shop open from 11am-6pm, and as if that’s not enough, on Fridays, from 9pm-3am the bar welcomes all to imbibe and mingle. New goods and services are on the horizon as well, at the owner’s discretion.
So, if you find yourself in Yokohama, stop by and discover the revolutionary magic that is Yadoruya!