Running errands on a bike

We don't have a car in Tokyo.  Many people live without cars in the city because the transportation system can get you pretty much anywhere.  Walking is very common and so is bike riding.  Although I can easily live without a car here, I could never live without my bike in Japan.

I use it whenever I need to get a lot of groceries, as I don't really want to carry 5 kilograms of rice for the 10 minute walk home.  I use it whenever the walk would take too long - especially when walking with a four year old.  I also use it if I'm running behind and need to get to the train station a bit faster than walking.

Today, we had a couple errands that required a bike due to both the distance and the amount we were purchasing.  Our first stop was Nitori (a store similar to IKEA) to order curtains for the house, pick up some stackable bins for our recycling, and buy a broom.  We also bought earthquake brackets to hold our kitchen cabinet in place if our house starts shaking - a common occurrence here.  Since we had come to the store by bicycle, we had to strap the bins and broom to the back of my husband's bike and ride back home.  I was transporting our son, so I only had my front basket to carry things and the bins were much too large for the front basket.  It was quite comical to watch him as he pedaled down the street with his big load.  Once we arrived back at the house, we took everything inside and headed back out to our next errand.  I recently bought a couple pots and plants, but didn't purchase enough potting soil for the containers.  So we went to Simachu Home's (similar to Fred Meyer, but without the grocery department) to get more dirt, as well as a hammer.  I have been wanting to hang photos on the walls and needed a hammer to get the job done.  Once again we loaded up the bike and headed home with our purchases. 

Although we try to be through in our planning, sometimes not having a car means a couple errands can take all day.  It is the way of life here - more frantic in some ways, but slower in other ways.