Sorry, I never check these vistor messages!! I left my bike back home, but sort of regretted it later after hearing from others that it only cost around 150 bucks to pack it and ship it. I'm used to finding used track or city bikes in the United States, but there's not much chance of that here. I paid 600 for my bike here, and I like it a lot. But... if you have a bike you really like, I think you're better off shipping it! Anyway have fun in Japan! Where are you going?
Thanks for the tip, I'll look into the Yamagata JETs and get back to you if I have trouble. I haven't been contacted by my predecessor yet. But I have been contacted by Mark Duckworth who is at the BOE of Sagae-shi, where I'm placed and he is really helpful. He sent me pictures of my apartment which was nice!
Other than that yes I am really happy and really looking forward to it. It is going to be a great challenge!
