Cheap jerseys from Uniqlo

With temperatures increasing as we approach yet another notoriously humid Japanese summer, a cyclist can't be without too many jerseys. Depending on the frequency of your laundry cycle, if you're commuting daily you're going to need between 3 and 5 jerseys as, believe me, you'll need a fresh one every day.

Team jerseys in Japan will usually set you back over Y12,000 while plain Jerseys from Perl Izumi are priced around Y7,000. At those prices cycling wear in Japan can get pretty expensive.

If those prices scare you then you should take a trip to your local Uniqlo soon, as they currently have quick drying mesh shirts for Y1,000. I picked up a couple while in Kichijoji last weekend to try out on my daily commute and discovered them to be cool, comfortable, and fast drying. In addition to this they come in a variety of fashionable and/or eye searing colours for on road visibility and feature a limited number of designs.

Obviously they lack pockets in the back, and a zipper in the front for when it really gets hot but as a cheap alternative to a cycling jersey these tops are well worth the Y1,000 investment.

You can view, and purchase, these shirts on the Uniqlo website. Just be sure you're looking a the dry mesh (ドライメッシュ) types.