My normal morning ride was rudely interrupted today when I had to stop at a set of traffic lights I usually only use for reference because there were dozens of cops loitering there.
Japanese authorities have a tendency to over-react, so even though there were at least 30 officers, several patrol cars, an ambulance, paramedics and firefighters hanging around the Hino Bridge area, I didn’t think too much of it.
I did think it a little strange that the bike path was roped off and cops mounting guard and patrolling on foot.
It was only after discovering news on Facebook that I had witnessed the aftermath of a vicious battle among warring yakuza clans that resulted in one seriously injured man, who I am going to assume was the bloodied bloke found after staggering into a nearby convenience store.
Details of the event are in the news story. I rode off, but I should have hung around a bit more. When I reached the opposite bank about 20 minutes after the initial sighting of the cluster of cops, I couldn’t see anything happening. But from the news story photo, it’s clear the police lurked a little longer and spent hours with their measuring tapes, which is the sign of the typical Japanese Plod.
Anyway, the discovery of the news story and its answer to my morning ride question provided a little excitement in a day closer to excrement.
News Story (Japanese)
