-mocks, in the park across the street. It was rainy season, September 2009, and it was pissing down rain. There were gangs of messengers and other cyclists riding around town from one convenience store to the next buying beer.

And then during the actual messenger world cup, which was out on Odaiba (a man-made island in Tokyo Harbor), in a big car park, that was pretty crazy too. Luckily there was a convenience store near where one of the tightest turns in the racecourse was, so everyone could just sit there and drink all day.

Where’s your favorite place to ride around Tokyo?

I really like Meiji Jingu Park which is in between the Harajuku and Roppongi districts. It’s a sporting area with baseball fields and soccer fields and tennis courts and there’s a lot of trees and roads that go around those sports facilities, so it’s really nice place to cruise around. I also like going through the Shibuya neighborhood late at night because the place is completely lit up with neon signs reflecting off the pavement. At three o’clock in the morning there’s hardly anyone around and you can just kind of fly through.

In general, how is it riding a bike around Tokyo?

It’s really safe, it’s good. Everyone’s very conscious about the fact that people are riding bikes on the street. You do have to look out for taxis but I guess you could say that about any country. The only thing is taxis here have doors that open automatically, so there could be nobody in the back of a taxi and suddenly a rear door could swing open for a passenger to get in, and you could ride into it.

What’s the funniest thing that’s ever happened at Kinfolk?

All the furnishings are hung pretty low—you’ve got to duck everywhere. So we have a lot of tall guys that hit their heads multiple times when they’re in here drinking. And the more they drink, the more they hit their heads and the less it seems to hurt.

Check out wegotways.com/kinfolk

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