This is a snapshot of my new means for getting around town. Well, at least it will be as soon as I can figure out how to get it away from whomever actually owns it.

It’s a Honda Solo. The only one I’ve ever actually seen. It is a motorcycle. Some people might say you can’t really call something a motorcycle if it has an engine on it that looks like it’s only powerful enough to drive a sewing machine. (Actually, it’s a 50cc engine — but then it doesn’t take much to move a bike that weighs only 77 kilos, with the gastank full.)

Anyway, I think it’s a bike that’s designed to attract more attention standing still than on the road. It is a beautiful piece of design. If you want to see more details, there is a site in Hong Kong that has some great photos of it.

Unfortunately, the page at the official Honda site that is supposed to provide info about the bike says that they have stopped making it. So, if you’re looking to pick one up yourself, you may be out of luck — unless, like me, you happen to find one in the wild.

The one in the picture I snapped is parked almost every evening in front of the “Opening Cafe (Daito Travel Co., Ltd.)” next to Ebisu Station. So go by some time if you want to take a first-hand look. Just don’t expect it to be there long…

I snapped this photo in Harajuku, right on Ometesando, on my way back from last month’s JapanBloggers meetup. I’ve never before seen road construction done with the aid of a flamethrower. But after encountering it this first time, I definitely would like to see it more often.

If you are a fan of nighttime road construction, Tokyo is the place for you. You don’t have to go far anywhere at night to find some serious road construction (or destruction) going on. Sucks for people who are trying to get around town at night, I guess. But I don’t care because I don’t drive any more (I sold my pickup truck after my rifle rack & rifles got stolen outside of the Kabukicho Baptist Church).

Starting today, you can no longer legally stroll the streets of Shinjuku while smoking a cigarette. Or while holding a lit cigarette. Or while dangling a lit cigarette from one hand while holding your mobile phone in the other and talking on it, completely oblivious to the people around you.

Because I live and work in Shinjuku, this news makes me kind of happy.

But I guess a few smokers will be made unhappy — especially the ones who enjoy smoking so much that they like to share their smoke with everybody else wherever they go: on the streets, in even the finest restaurants, etc. But they have the comfort of knowing that Shinjuku officials have prepared enclosed smoking lounges in a few areas — places where smokers can step off the street for a while, gather together, and share their smoke with one another freely.

One suggestion I’ve heard is that the doors on the smoking lounges should have bolts on them. Ones that lock from the outside.

Update: I replaced the previous image (lame Shinjuku-ku logo) with the current “No smoker” one, from a pocket tissue packet my friend Daisuke picked up.

Random Chuo Line Links.
East Japan Railway Stations: This site has a bunch of well organized information for the Chuo line. The author supplies a sound clip of each station name being announced, distance from Tokyo, date of opening, location, departing melodies, and transfer links. Nice site.

JR Chuo Line: This is an about.com page. Links for other train lines and sight-seeing guides for Japan are lurking off to the left.

JR Fact Sheets: Want to impress your S.O. or boss with JR facts? This is the page for you. I am too lazy to list the TOC. All fact sheets are PDF.

JR East Railway Lines in Greater Tokyo.: In English for all you Kanji knuckle heads. Wait, that sorta includes me.

Guide Maps for Major Stations: Five stations get special treatment Tokyo, Shinjuku, Yokohama, Narita Airport Station, and Airport Terminal 2 Station.

Okay, that is about it. Enjoy.