Family Bike Rides with the Mamachari

Last week we made a very exciting purchase.  We bought a mamachari!  Since being in Japan and seeing mamacharis literally EVERYWHERE, I've been itching to get one!  A classic mamachari is heavy bike with a low frame so that's easy to get on and off, and it usually has one or two baby seats and/or one or two baskets on the front and back.  Riding mamacharis is so commonplace in Japan that it almost seemed that in order to fully immerse ourselves in the culture we had to get one!

Mamacharis aren't cheap though, which is why we haven't yet purchased one.  But, luck was on our side!  Peter and the kids were at Hard-Off (I know, weird name!  But, don't worry, it's just a second-hand store!) last week just checking things out and they came across a mamachari with two bike seats that was in great condition!  The price, being about half of what we would pay for a new one, was just right, so we went back a couple of days later and bought it!

We've taken it out and ridden around our neighborhood a couple of times, but on Saturday we decided  to go on a ride down on a river trail nearby.  So, we drove out to Tamagawa (the Tama river), which has a trail that runs next to it, from Tokyo all the way out to the mountains to the west of us.  It was a little chilly, but it was a great ride, and it was fun to be outside.  Will had a blast and the two little ones are starting to get used to their ride on mom's bike :)

If you look closely in the picture below, you can see Clara's purple helmet peeking out on the side--she was trying to smile for the camera!