Not too long ago I lived for a while in Japan.
The Japanese are famous for throwing out perfectly good equipment
(television sets, audio and video equipment, kitchen appliances, etc.)
to make space for their latest purchase.
Japanese manufacturers thrive on "keeping up with the Watanabes".
In every neighborhood there is a monthly drop-off point for these items.
Charitable organizations come by to pick up what they can use and the city hauls off the rest.
Since foreigners are given more lee-way than the locals, I helped myself to 2 TVs, a refrigerator,
a video and a gas range. The only appliance we baught while in Japan was a washing machine.
There were also lots of bikes, but mostly department store brand commuter bikes, I only needed one of those.
When I decided to start riding, I visited the local shops.
One shop had a bulletin board full of ride photos.
The owner of the shop came over one day to talk and invite me out on a club ride.
When I asked if he had any rental bikes he took me upstairs to show me his second-hand collection.
There were dozens of bikes in his second floor . mostly for canabalizing parts.
But there were also a few ridable bikes. He said I could have any bike I saw for a hundred dollars.
I took an old Miyata road bike and Maruishi mountain bike (that became my commuter). Both bikes got plenty of use. My photo is probably still on the bulletin board. The Miyata was passed on to a friend when I left.
Amir Avitzur wondering why I didn't rifle through Otsuka-san's collection in Ramat-Gan, Israel