I was soooo happy. Been thinking about it for a while, saved the cash and went for it. Bought myself a brand new pair of beautiful rollerblades after zipping around Sport Depot for an hour. I dropped the box at home and dashed out to my yoga class on my new wheels. The smooth streets felt like pure bliss under my wheels; the railroad tracks like booby traps waiting to pull me in. I zoomed around my old neighbourhood on the freshly paved roads, past the kids who all turned to look and murmured “sugoi” to each other. I was the envy of the block… The wind blowing through my hair, I thought that no one could take the ear-to-ear smile off my face.
Woo woo, woo woo, I could hear from behind me. Then, a strong voice pronounced, “Sumimasen”. It was a police officer, and not a happy one at that. “Rollerblading,” he flatly stated, “is illegal in Japan. Please take off your rollerblades right now and change into your shoes.” I was flabbergasted. “Nande?” I asked. “Dangerous,” he replied. After a few minutes discussing the issue I gave up, sat down, opened my bag, and started to take out my shoes.
Just at that moment, no word of a lie, a kid went by on a uni-cycle. Yes, a single wheel with a seat on the top… and the officer didn’t even bat an eye. Nothing! It’s safe for 8 year olds to ride uni-cycles in the street, but not safe for a 25+ year old to rollerblade. Grrrr… no wonder those blades were on 50% sale and the shop clerk was so surprised that I wanted them!
