Of course, the whole discussion is academic if I can’t solve the parking issue. I’ll look into it once I start work.

That road, Rt. 246, during rush hour, simply put: sucks!

Why not take the expressway? Costs a bit more, but…

Also, I ride central-Tokyo 246 and Roppongi Dori to and from work every day. True, my total commute is only about 10km each way, but the roads themselves are not so bad.

The key is to beat peak rush hour; I am on the road between 8-8:30am, which is fine. After 8:30, it gets worse. And I come home late usually, so there is no traffic then.

Finally, I ride my scooter, which is more manageable in city traffic. I know Big Ben has had some trouble finding a scooter that will fit him. My suggestion: some European models tend to have pretty tall seat heights.

Also, Jeff had the right idea: leave your suit jackets and ties in your office. You can ride to work in your shirt and pants.

First, let me explain that Ben will be working with me now, in the finance sector. I’ve been working at our company for two years now. It’s right smack dab in the middle of Tokyo (in fact, the imperial palace is just down the street). And basically, it’s one straight road from where we live in Kawasaki to the heart of Tokyo. That road, Rt. 246, during rush hour, simply put: sucks! The congestion is unbelievable, and all the illegally parked cars and delivery trucks and other vehicles swerving the get around others making left turns means that lane splitting ability is severely compromised. In a nut shell: it ain’t fun. In fact, it would probably give Ben more stress than stress relief.

The parking issue also is a serious problem. Professional Harley theft rings have been preying on Tokyo for years, and have found all ways of conquering any matter of anti-theft device. The only way to park your bike without worrying all day long everyday is to put in a parking garage. BUT, the problem is none of the parking garages in the vicinity will accept motorcycles! Only cages. And common sense does not prevail: “Hey may, OK, but can I just park my scooter in this little nook that no car could possibly fit in? I’ll pay standard fare.”
“Uh, no, sorry our rulebook doesn’t say what to do in this situation, so we have to say no. Besides, we were never instructed to think outside the box. Go park it on the street with all the other two wheelers.”
That’s the kind of situation we face.
Unfortunately, this ain’t California. No six lane roads and no titanic parking lots. We’re talking bottlenecked traffic and no place to park.
Sucks, but it’s just a trade off until we make a big enough name for oursevles to go freelance. Then it’s HOG heaven!

This weekend, scour the neighborhood around your new office. There is SOMEWHERE to park your bike. There always is.

The rest is manageable. It is not ideal, but it is manageable. I’m a lawyer. I have to wear a suit every single miserable day. I have to drive through traffic…often for an hour.

Yes. It’s freaking hot in the summer. Your right leg gets pretty damn toasty at times. I have fried the bottom right leg of many suit pants on my pipes, but that’s what dry cleaners and tailors are for.

As for the sweat and wrinkles, that can be mostly overcome in one of two ways. If you have your own office or locker, you can keep a suitcoat or two and some ties hanging there. Or, if you just have the standard cubicle, you can bring your shirt and suitcoat in a back pack or briefcase strapped to your sissy bar or in your saddle bags. If you fold your shirt around a hand towel, then it won’t get creases where the fold lines are, and the suitcoat wont look any worse than if you drove a car.

When you get to work, you change out of your t-shirt into your dress shirt, suit and tie and put your t-shirt in your bag.

It takes a bit longer. It’s somewhat of a burden. It DOES get hot in the summer. But, you are still riding and it’s not so bad after dark. You will find side streets that cut down on your travel time. It’s also good to take the long way home sometimes to avoid the traffic.

As for security, a couple hundred bucks gets you the H-D factory alarm, siren addition, and a remote pager with a 1/2 mile range that alerts you to any motion, attempt to start, or cut battery cables.

It seems unpleasant, but just being on the bike compensates for a LOT of the discomfort.