Bad Bicycle Days. Everyone has them. From the old fish peddler on the decrepit bicycle carrying a crate of fish on the back to the young Japanese princess on her trendy new collapsible bicycle, some days it seems they're all out to run you down.
Since the sidewalk is the unofficial bicycle lane in Japan, you'd think there would be more courtesies. Even a few bicycle rules would be helpful. After all, other vehicles have rules. When you drive a car in Japan, you drive on the left side. When you drive a boat, you bear right. But if you ride a bicycle, you ride straight down the middle.
When two bicycles are headed toward each other, the solution should be simple -- both should bear left to avoid each other. Instead, the decision to bear left or right is put off until the very last moment before a head-on collision.