ranger tries to stop paraplegic on Mt. Fuji

So typical of Japan -- never mind all the garbage & raw sewage on the mountain and the fact that tractors drive up the mountain all the time -- let's give a paraplegic a hard time due to a "no mountain bike rule" and make us look stupid in the eyes of the world.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20030905b2.htm

A young American who lost the use of his legs in a car accident while he was a teenager reached the peak of Mount Fuji on Thursday, the first successful climb of its kind.

Keegan Reilly, 22, climbed Japan's highest peak in three days, using a four-wheeled, custom-made mountain bike powered by an arm-driven crank.
...
He ran into several problems along the way, including a trail ranger who refused to let him pass for eight hours,

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From another article:

a ranger on the trail tried to turn back Reilly and his eight member support team, saying mountain bikes were not allowed on the trail. It took eight hours to convince the ranger to let them continue.

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Wow, that is incredibly insensitive. Kind of seems typical of Japanese officialdom though, ignore common sense and stick to the rules at all costs. Like the traffic cops who routinely ignore Bosozoku driving like maniacs but will stop someone for jaywalking on a completely deserted street.

Great that the guy didn't give up though.

Great! It's so good to see yet another post where a ridiculous, one-off, isolated incident is described as "so typical of Japan".

Your comments are ignorant, and completely out of line. Frankly, I don't care how flippant or 'throw-away' your words are. By portraying an entire nation's behaviour in a negative and completely innaccurate manner, your attitude is bordering on racist.

You should think long and hard in future before you make these kinds of statements.

Tiger