＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
I obtained my driver’s license (AT only) at the age of 51. When I first got my license, I often went for drives in Nara, Kyoto, Kobe, and Shiga Prefecture.
In Shiga Prefecture, I took the Hieizan Driveway to Enryakuji Temple, and one time I drove along the east side of the “Lakeshore Road. One time, I drove along the east side of the “Lake Biwa Bridge,” but it was a bit difficult to go around the lake, so I crossed the “Lake Biwa Bridge” in the west direction on the way back to Shiga.
I was surprised to see a beautifully maintained “cycling road” along the lakeshore road. I imagined how refreshing it would be to ride a bicycle with the wind from Lake Biwa.
Number of bicycles owned per household
According to a survey by the Japan Bicycle Industry Development Association, Shiga Prefecture has the highest number of bicycles per household in Japan. The reasons for this are as follows.
(1) “Promotion of bicycle use” at the prefectural level
The reason is that Yukiko Kada, who served as governor of Shiga Prefecture from 2006 to 2014, was passionate about environmental preservation and promoted the use of public transportation and bicycles, reducing the use of automobiles.
An official from Shiga Prefecture’s Healthy Life Expectancy Promotion Division said, “The basis of health promotion is moderate physical activity. Bicycles can be used by people of any age, so they are an important tool in maintaining the prefecture’s longevity,” he said.
In fact, in 2015, Shiga Prefecture ranked first in Japan in “average life expectancy by prefecture” (according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare) for men and fourth for women.
(2) Moriyama City’s “Bicycle Purchase Subsidy Program
According to an official of Moriyama City’s Regional Development and Transportation Policy Division, “The city’s image as a ‘bicycle town’ has become firmly established through its efforts to promote bicycle use among its residents.
A specific measure to promote bicycle use is a program that began in FY2016 to subsidize the cost of bicycle purchases for residents. The bicycles must be purchased at designated stores and are available in four types: three-wheeled bicycles for the elderly, electrically power assisted bicycles, bicycles that can accommodate infants, and sports bicycles suitable for long-distance riding.
The program currently subsidizes up to 15,000Yen. 200-300 applications are received each year and the program will continue in FY2019.
The background behind the growing popularity of the system is that the terrain is flat and suitable for bicycle travel, and it is also more environmentally friendly than cars and buses.
(3) “Wheel Country Lake Biwa Promotion Council” established by NPOs and companies
One prefectural-level “Bicycle City” initiative is “Biwaichi,” a bicycle tour around the 193-km circumference of Lake Biwa.
The “Lake Biwa Ichi” is fully promoted by the “Lake Biwa Bicycle Promotion Council,” which was established in 2009 with NPOs and businesses playing a central role. Originally a popular activity among elementary and junior high school students around Lake Biwa, the “Biwaichi” event is now being promoted as a community-based cultural event.
By linking Lake Biwa, the prefecture’s greatest tourist resource, with bicycles, the council aims to add new value and attract bicycle enthusiasts from both inside and outside the prefecture.
(4) Squadra Shiga Moriyama Store
Squadra Shiga Moriyama specializes in road bikes, cross bikes, mountain bikes, triathlon bikes, kids bikes, and other sports bikes.
The store has the largest number of TREK bikes on display in Shiga Prefecture, and test rides are available. TREK” is the No. 1 popular brand of sports bikes in the United States.
The Squadra Shiga Moriyama store also plays a role in the promotion of “Biwaichi.
Incidentally, “Squadra” means “team” or “friends” in Italian, and the store name was chosen in the hope that it would be a team of people who love cycle sports and a place for friends to gather.
2. utilization of rental bicycles
In tourist areas such as Lake Biwa, I think Shiga Prefecture’s reputation as a “city of bicycles” will be firmly established if “rental bicycles” in front of stations are expanded so that even “light bicycle enthusiasts” can easily try “Biwaichi”. I believe that this will help Shiga Prefecture’s reputation as a “bicycle town” take root. Currently, rental bicycles are available in Moriyama, Takashima, Otsu, Hikone, and Maibara cities.
Some “heavy bicycle enthusiasts” may take a sports-type bicycle from their homes to Lake Biwa or load it in their cars and ride around the lake by bicycle, but wouldn’t the above measures be effective in broadening the base of general bicycle enthusiasts?
<2019/11/21 postscript>“Biwaichi” was selected as a “National Cycle Route” by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
In September 2019, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism selected three of Japan’s representative bicycle routes, Biwaichi (Shiga Prefecture), Shimanami Kaido Cycling Road (Hiroshima and Ehime Prefectures), and Tsukuba Kasumigaura Rinrin Road (Ibaraki Prefecture), as the first “National Cycle Routes” and will promote them overseas, The prefecture has decided to promote this route to overseas markets with the aim of attracting more inbound tourists.
Shiga Prefecture also plans to promote “route development” and “multilingualization of information displays” as an opportunity to attract more inbound tourists.
