I'm off.
Wait, Hiromi.
What, Mom?
"What?" I'm talking about your bicycle.
You haven't ridden it since you were little.
Are you sure you can ride that?
I'll be fine.
They say it's muscle memory, right?
Riding a bike is easy.
But...
Don't worry. I'll practice.
That's why I'm leaving early.
Are you sure you're okay?
I'll be fine.
I'm Maiharu Hiromi.
I moved to Kamakura from Nagasaki.
Have a nice day.
Starting today, I'm a first-year at Minami Kamakura High school.
A new uniform, a new city, and...
...a new day's about to begin.
#1 Entrance Ceremony!
Okay.
Oh, right. Bicycles don't move forward unless you turn these things, right?
This should make it move forward.
This station really is picturesque.
It was worth walking from one station over.
S-Someone stop me!
Brake! Hit the brakes!
Oh, right.
Ouch...
Are you okay?
Sorry for bothering you.
Don't worry about it.
I'm glad you don't seem too badly injured.
That's good.
Are you a new student at Minami Kamakura High?
Huh? Yeah, I am.
Are you a student there, too?
Yeah. I'm Akitsuki Tomoe.
Tomoe...
Tomo-chan, then.
I'm Maiharu Hiromi. You can call me Hiromi.
Nice to meet you, Hiromi.
Nice to meet you, Tomo-chan.
Anyway, is that bicycle broken?
Oh, no. The problem lies somewhere else.
Um, apparently I've forgotten how to ride a bicycle.
What?
Um, I'm not sure what you mean...
But you made it down the hill despite your wobbling.
With some practice, you could probably learn to ride again.
You're right.
I need to at least know how to ride a bicycle.
What? Uh, y-yeah...
Since that's decided, I should practice.
Please help me.
What? Help you?
Me?
Why is this happening?
Well, there's still some time before the entrance ceremony.
I can do this for a little bit.
Here we go, Hiromi.
Okay.
There.
Hiromi! Pedal, pedal!
No! Face forward!
Ouch...
Yikes. This might be difficult.
Hiromi, pedal harder!
Your shoulders are stiff!
Don't try to balance yourself using the handlebars!
Face forward! Forward!
You're forgetting to pedal again!
There must be
people on this Earth who are genetically incapable of riding bikes.
And I must be one of them.
Hello?
I'm not very good at anything, but I haven't been this bad at something in a while!
She said it!
That's enough, Tomo-chan.
The entrance ceremony is starting.
I can't ask you to keep practicing with me.
L-Let's try one more time.
What?
You've tried this hard already.
It's okay. I'll hold you, okay?
Bicycles move forward as long as you pedal.
They'll move forward without falling.
Okay. Let's do it, Tomo-chan.
I'm ready back here, Hiromi.
Okay. Here we go.
That's it. Keep pedaling.
I'm doing it. I'm doing it, Tomo-chan!
Yeah, you're pretty steady now.
Hiromi, I'm letting go.
What?
Go!
I'm doing it.
I'm riding a bicycle.
Wow.
Yeah, that's it!
I did it, Tomo-chan!
Yeah, that's amazing!
I managed to ride my bike.
Yeah, but it's still too dangerous for you to go out on the road.
Yeah. What should we do?
I think there are bike racks near the station.
They're full.
Oh, my.
What should we do, Captain Tomoe?
We can't just abandon your bike somewhere.
Let's push your bike to school.
Hiromi, you moved here from Nagasaki?
Yeah, I just came here.
What do you think of Kamakura?
Well, there are a lot of hills.
And at the bottom of those hills are beaches.
It's sort of like Nagasaki.
Oh, really?
Tomo-chan, is the school much farther?
Yeah, about 15 minutes.
What? But I'm tired.
You can do it.
If you're too slow, we won't make the entrance ceremony.
And you'll get to see something nice once we turn that corner.
What?
Wow!
This is one of Kamakura's ocean views?
Wow, there are lots of little suns.
You're right.
It's so pretty.
Hiromi...
Huh?
Welcome to Kamakura.
We're glad to have you.
Thanks, Tomo-chan.
What a pleasant breeze.
This is the best road for cycling.
Anyway, I wonder where Minami Kamakura High is?
Enoshima Station
Minami Kamakura High
My Shop
Eat Up
Ocean
The map Nagisa gave me isn't specific enough, so I have no idea.
Did I bike past it?
This feels great.
The smell of sea breeze is so refreshing, too.
I've always lived in Kamakura.
I don't know much about other beaches,
but it might mean our beaches are just that clean and beautiful.
Wow.
Hey, Tomo-chan. Is that mountain...
Yeah, it's Mt. Fuji.
Wow! It's just like the Mt. Fuji I've seen in photos.
Of course.
I've never seen Mt. Fuji in person before.
It looks so close.
From here, we're about 70 kilometers away.
By the way, Enoshima is to the left, and in front of it is Shichirigahama.
Really?
Oh, we get a lot of black kites around here.
Be careful whenever you're eating.
They'll mercilessly take things right out of a person's hands.
Hey, students!
Wait up!
Who is that?
Who knows?
You're students from Minami Kamakura, aren't you?
Y-Yes. Actually, I'm about to become one...
I knew it.
Then you know where the school is, right?
Could you give me directions?
What? Well, actually...
That's it right there.
What?
Oh? I can't believe it was right in front of me.
That's good. We're finally here.
Is she a teacher?
What was that sound?
I got up early this morning, so I didn't get to eat breakfast.
But it's okay.
My mom made me sandwiches.
Thanks for the food.
Hiromi, don't!
Why? Tomo-chan, do you want some?
That's not what I meant.
You don't want any?
My sandwich!
I told you to watch out for the kites.
Hey, give it back!
They've taken my food plenty of times.
It's fine. I have another one.
What?
They're coming.
Hiromi, put that away!
Okay, I'll eat it right away!
That's not what I said! Put it away!
I won't let the kites take it from me!
You two, run to the school!
Yes, ma'am!
Give me a break.
Sorry, sorry.
Minami Kamakura High...
Starting today, we'll be attending school here for three years.
Yeah.
But there's nobody here.
Everyone's already gone to the entrance ceremony.
What? Is it already that time?
We should go, too.
Before that, you should check the board for your class assignments.
Oh, right.
Tomo-chan, it's over there.
Hurry, Hiromi!
Wait, Tomo-chan!
Hurry up!
Okay!
Good grief. What a noisy couple of students.
I found mine.
Maiharu Hiromi
I'm in class B.
First-Year Class B: Akitsuki Tomoe
I'm in class B, too.
I look forward to spending the year with you, Hiromi.
Yeah, Tomo-chan.
New students, welcome to Minami Kamakura High.
As students who are now members of a high school in historical Kamakura,
I welcome you from the bottom of my heart.
Today you will begin your life as students of Minami Kamakura High.
The great difference between those of you who were middle schoolers until March,
All of these people are my classmates.
and those of you lining up here is your personal desire to study.
Even after finishing compulsory education,
There are lots of smart-looking people and athletic-looking people.
you chose on your own to study at our school.
Is that a foreigner?
The three years you spend here will not go smoothly.
You will experience painful times and times that make you want to give up on everything.
Will I be able to make friends?
That's right.
I'm in a strange place.
I don't know anybody.
Will I spend my high school life alone?
I'll eat my lunches in the bathroom and won't find partners for PE class.
Someday, I'll even fail my classes,
and then I'll begin refusing to come to school.
I'll lock myself away in my room
KEEP OUT!
and won't be able to enjoy anything but the internet, anime, and manga.
I can't take it anymore!
But during those times,
Hiromi, are you okay?
Are you not feeling well?
I hope you remember this day.
Tomo-chan...
For the next three years, you will sometimes feel lost or bewildered.
You may even feel overwhelmed by uncertainty.
But when that time comes, look beside you.
Standing there are your friends who are studying
and growing alongside you at this school.
All of us are hoping that you'll experience
a fruitful academic life with the neighbors you just turned toward.
What's wrong?
It's nothing.
That's right. As far as friends go, I already have...
I will now introduce your homeroom teachers.
Class A's homeroom teacher is Ishida Mitsue-sensei.
Class B's homeroom teacher is Mori Shiki-sensei.
She really is a teacher here.
And she's apparently our homeroom teacher.
Looks like we're finished with introductions.
Mori Shiki
I'd like to conclude homeroom with a message from me.
As you grow from children into adults as high school students,
you'll undergo a variety of experiences, beginning with studying together.
I'm sure you all grew up in different environments.
There will probably be differences between the experiences you'll have in the future.
But if you begin moving forward according to your desires,
you'll find you have the freedom to go there.
In other words, if you wanted to,
you could travel from the tip of Hokkaido to the southern end of Okinawa.
No, if you wanted to, you have the freedom to cross oceans and go wherever you want.
The freedom to go wherever we want...
Where you go and what you do is up to you.
All I can say is this.
I hope you have fun.
See, hear, experience, and eat lots of things.
Enjoy your three years of high school to the fullest, and find your own joy.
And hopefully, you'll experience that joy with friends.
Mori Shiki
I've said what I need to say.
You're free to go.
The freedom to go wherever our desires take us, huh?
That teacher had some surprisingly good things to say.
But how far will my feet take me?
Whether it's by train or by plane, with our allowances...
A frail high school girl can't go far.
Were those bicycles?
They were so fast.
They're almost out of sight already.
Yeah. There are a lot of people who ride bikes like that down this road.
They were all girls.
Looks like it.
Lucky them.
If I could ride like that, I bet I could go anywhere.
Then you'd better start learning how to ride a bike without help.
Roger that, Coach Tomo-chan.
Face forward! Don't wobble!
Okay!
You can do it!
Come to think of it, the bike she was riding had training wheels on it.
I wonder if she was able to ride it okay.
The appeal of road bikes on full display makes you want to start riding tomorrow.
A-O-P: The first cycling club.
Choose the frame Choose the size Accidents (Flat) Accidents (Chain) Must-have items Useful items Maintenance Proper posture
In this segment, we bring to you must-see information for newbies to road bikes with
Fukuo Yui
Hirose Yuki
A-O-P's Fukuo Yui...
And Hirose Yuki.
Road bikes come in a variety of designs and shapes
The first trap newbies fall into is choosing the right parts.
"I don't know what to choose!"
"There are too many choices!"
"I guess we should come back later..."
"Yeah."
Gloom
In order to make sure that doesn't happen to you,
Choosing a Bike 1: Choosing Based on the Frame
we'll learn how to choose the right frame.
Yamada-san, this is our first time buying road bikes.
How should we choose a bike?
Wise Road Ochanomizu Manager Yamada Yunosuke-san
Bicycle frames are made of different materials,
Choosing a Bike Choose the right material based on intended use
so it's necessary to choose a material appropriate for your intended use.
Really?
The chromoly frame is well-known.
Chromoly
Chromoly frames are made from steel, so magnets will stick to it.
Steel.
The material itself is very strong. It's very tough.
The material is strong and tough
So it's okay even if you fall?
It won't break, even if you fall.
Wow.
Chromoly: Strong and shock absorbent, but heavy. For people who want a slow and comfortable ride.
I recommend this frame for people who want to tour or ride around slowly.
This frame is made of carbon.
Carbon
The carbon frame is really light.
But it's so light.
Because it can be strengthened where necessary,
Carbon: Strong and light, but expensive. For people looking for speed.
it's mostly chosen by people interested in racing.
Finally, there's aluminum.
Aluminum
A lot of aluminum frames are affordable.
Aluminum: Light and sturdy, but not shock absorbent. Recommended for beginners due to low price.
A lot of people choose an aluminum frame for their first bike.
Maybe I'll get the chromoly one.
You want it to last a while?
Yeah. Even if I fall, with the chromoly...
I bet you'd fall.
Next Time Choosing the Right Size
Try choosing your own frame according to your intended use.
Next Time "Go Explore Kamakura!"