Nara cycling maybe not pottering/ 奈良サイクリング これもポタではないですyo!

I like Nara very much. I have been visiting the prefecture almost 2 times a month or something. Nara is much larger than Osaka. Osaka actually is a smallest prefecture in Japan. The place perhaps is very attractive to visit by car, on train, on foot and of course by bike.
奈良が好きです。一月に2〜3回行く事もあります。奈良は大阪よりも可成り広いので、車、電車、バス、歩いて、そして勿論自転車で訪れても楽しめます。
Osaka is said to be a really nice hub to go to Nara, Kyoto, Wakayama, Shiga. You can visit these area about an hour or less. Each of area has different facet and culture. Osaka locate really nice place to go to short trip and enjoy unique culture of these history rich places. Better enjoy full of em aren't I ?
大阪は奈良、京都、滋賀、和歌山等に行くのに大変便利な位置にあります。これらの地域はそれぞれ独自の文化、歴史、特色があり、それぞれ違った色を見せてくれます。折角大阪にいるのならこう言うのも楽しみたいですよね。
R 25 is very popular among car drivers and perhaps for serious cyclists who rides conventional diamond flames. I used to use this way but I was reluctant to. There are so many drivers speeding and passing by you. Japan is a car centered society. You can not expect car drivers morals and manners as you expected in the West. Maybe it is not so bad, I mean compare to other far eastern countries, but the drivers here are as if they owned the road. So I would like to avoid these cars when I am cycling. One of my blogger mates posted an article on Nara and cycling. He lives in Osaka and is a Bromptonaut. Apparently, he went to there by using R 25 and he was fed up with heavy traffic. I suggested there is a nicer way than R 25. He was interested in the way I always use to go to Nara. I planed to cycling around the area and there are another 2 Bromptonauts who wants to go to Nara so we gathered on a lovely Sunday morning.
They are; A2C, otake and kimotoshi.
国道25線は奈良に行く車や自転車乗りには有名な道です。僕も何度か利用した事もありますが、自転車、特に小径乗りには良い道かどうかは解りません。ある日ブログを通じてやり取りさせて貰ってるkimotoshiさんの日記で奈良まで言った事がのっていましたが、どうやら25線で行き、車にはうんざりした様でした。そのうち別の道で一緒に奈良に行きましょうと言うと、是非にと言うことでした。そうこう言ううちに他のブロ乗りの方も行きたいと成りこの前の日曜にA2Cさん、otakeさん、kimotoshiさん、私の4人のブロ乗りで奈良に行きました。言うまでもなく日本は「車中心社会」です。25線であろうがどこであろうが自転車に乗ってる人に気を使ってくれる運転手と言うのはあんまりいません。なので車の通らない道を通って奈良に行きます。
Along the Yamato gawa(Yamato River), we headed for Nara. The road runs with river is not designed as a cyclists road, but there are some parts of which is not allowed to enter by cars and motor cycles and there is a part of cyclist road included. I was a leader of the tour(again, I am not sure for this is called pottering or nothttp://foldersandmobile.blogspot.com/2009/03/kyoto-cycling-by-bromoton-2-2.html) .
大和川沿いに奈良に向かいます。今回は私が引率します(計画たてて多人数なのでこれをポタと言うかどうか解りません。http://foldersandmobile.blogspot.com/2009/03/kyoto-cycling-by-bromoton-2-2.html)川沿いの道は一部は自転車専用道路として整備されてます。

Lovely isn't it! The river, green, flowers and no cars!
素晴らしいですね。川に、緑に、花々そして車はなし。
The cyclist road bending along Isi Kawa(Isi river),which is an armlet of the Yamato gawa, so we headed for the main river as the river runs from Nara Pref.
専用道路は支流の石川沿いに曲がって行きますので、私たちは外れて大和川沿いに進みます。
This station is the key point to go Nara with out using R 25.
この駅からが奈良行きの分岐点となります。
One of the reasons I like Nara is that the prefecture is bike friendly. Of course here also is a car centric prefecture just like the rest of area in Japan. The infrastructure of Nara is not so good for its huge region. The roads are not good, a few busses, no tubes and trams, trains leave something to be desired and so on. The authorities decided that Nara should not to be exploited, developed, but using conventional method. That is the bike and cyclist road. Not to be building new roads though they paint some pedestrian paths in green colour so as not to be missed the road. I like this idea although there are some improvements are needed. THIS IS A MUCH NICER IDEA by Osaka City Mayor Hiramatu's, I would say. Perhaps, people in Nara are accustomed this polcy because whenever I am cycling in Nara I noticed the drivers attitude towards bikes. They give us the way! It will not to be happened in Osaka! They even never stop right in front of zebras where you have to stop or speeding down for pedestrians.
It is a kind of miracle in Osaka if it happened!!!! Osakans traffic manners are notorious. Only a few of the people do keep the rule, of course I do.
I think I will writing it some day in the near future by the way. But think it over again, it must be not so special to give ways for bikes and walkers, it is that the Osaka is too strange...
Any way riding a bike in Nara is quite easy than in Osaka.
奈良が好きな理由の一つに自転車に友好的であると言うのがあります。勿論、他の地域同様に「車中心社会」が築かれてはいますが。整備はその広い領域に行き渡ってなく、道も良くないですし、バスも多くはありません。地下鉄や路面電車は走ってませんし、列車も万全とは言えません。ですが奈良県は開発の替わりに既存のものを活用する方向で決めました。そして自転車用の道路を整備する事にしたのです。新しく工事をせずに今ある状況、詰まり歩道等を用いて自転車道路として緑に塗り、道を見失わない様に工夫してる訳です。これは平松大阪市長の基本的な発想よりも遥かに良いと思います。そしてどうやら奈良人たちは自転車に乗ってる人たちに慣れてるのか、とても態度が良く感じられます。自転車に道を譲ってくれるのです!! 大阪ではそんな事殆どありません。
大阪では横断歩道でも歩行者や自転車を待たせて車は突進してきます。大阪では普通の人々が普通に交通ルールを守りません。守るのは少数です。僕もその少数です。この辺の事もそのうちに書こうと思っています。けどよく考えたら、自転車や歩行者に親切なのは奈良に限った事ではなく、大阪以外では普通なのかも知れません。
兎に角、奈良では大阪より楽に、簡単に自転車の乗れます。

kimotoshi is very fond of Japanese sweets so do I.
http://kimotoshi.exblog.jp/i12/
Sorry, no English.
kimotoshiさんは和の甘みに目がありません、私もですが。
http://kimotoshi.exblog.jp/i12/
I requested his favourite sweets for the day. We had cuppas and sweets just before running as a starter. I brought two JetBoils just in case. I made some nice cuppas for them with JetBoil.
ちょっとした前菜として甘みとお茶で休憩します。一応ジェットボイルを二つ持ってきました。これでお茶はばっちりです。

This is Houryuhji (Hou ryuh temple), one of the world heritages.
The oldest wooden buildings in the world.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hōryū-ji
The cyclist road begins here. If you are going to Nara, take your Brommie with you (or folders, bikes for that mater) to cycle round the area.
http://www.pref.nara.jp/toshi/walking_map/nara/map/bmap/b03.html
http://www.pref.nara.jp/toshi/walking_map/nara/map/bmap/b02.html
Sorry, no English.
ここが法隆寺です。世界最古の木造建築で世界遺産です。奈良の自転車道路はここから始まります。もし奈良におとずれるのでしたら是非ブロ(か他の折り畳みか、なんしか自転車)を持っていいって下さい、お薦めします。
http://www.pref.nara.jp/toshi/walking_map/nara/map/bmap/b03.html
http://www.pref.nara.jp/toshi/walking_map/nara/map/bmap/b02.html


After leaving Houryuhji, we had lunch,our familiar taste Darjireen tyazuke.
法隆寺を後にしておなじみ南蛮茶漬け。

This green colour means that this is bike road(not only for bikes).
Sometimes you have to go right side of the way along with the bike roads where as normally you have to go to the left side of the way. Maybe it is complicated but better than heavy traffic lane.
この緑色が自転車道と言うのを示します。自転車は車道の左側走行が普通ですが、これに合わせると時に右側を走らなければ成りませんが車のびゅんびゅん通る所よりはマシです。


most of nice pics by kimotoshi. cheers!
to b con'd.
殆どの素晴らしい写真はkimotoshiさんです、おおきに!
続く・・・。
http://a2c-niti.cocolog-nifty.com/blog/
http://brompton-p3l.blogspot.com/
http://kimotoshi.exblog.jp/






