Cycling in Japan
Photo: ja:User:Tonbi_ko, CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
While cycling in Japan is never going to compete with bullet trains for speed, it's an underappreciated mode of travel in the country.
Urban cyclingIn Japanese, the loanword baiku (バイク) by itself almost always means a motorcycle, not a bicycle. Bicycles are jitensha (自転車), or chari/charinko (チャリ/チャリンコ) in casual speech.
Tour cyclingLong-distance cycling in Japan is gaining popularity. All the routes below have bike rental facilities and detailed information available, although often only in Japanese.
Renting a bikeNearly every large city and many small cities have bike rentals, called Rent-a-cycles (レンタサイクル rentasaikuru), usually for half a day or a day (around ¥500/1000 is typical).
Buying a bikeBasic mamachari-type bikes can be picked up in Japanese superstores including Don Quijote or Aeon for as little as ¥10,000.
Importing bikesWhile all bikes in Japan are supposed to be registered, there is no legal penalty for not registering a bike, nor is there any obvious process for registering a non-Japanese bike, and this little loophole makes it…
Transporting bikesTransporting bikes long distances in Japan can be a pain. Usually trains only allow bikes in a "rinko bag" (bike bag, 輪行袋 rinkō-bukuro or 輪行バッグ rinkō baggu).
Biking lawsJapan has strict biking laws.
Sources and licences
- Guide text adapted from the Wikivoyage article "Cycling in Japan" by its contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikivoyage · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo: ja:User:Tonbi_ko, CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons