And so it came to pass that, today, my bicycle was towed by the city whilst I was stopped at a cafe on the way to school.  Even though I was sitting where my bicycle was in sight, I was studying intently enough that I didn’t see that it had gone missing until I went out to head to class.

This is the second time in as many months that I’ve had a bicycle towed.  Ouch!  The fine for retrieving a bicycle is often 50% or more of the bicycle’s value, so many people do not even bother collecting the bicycle from the impound lot.  Bicycles are frequently towed from around the city’s 155 train and subway stations.  [Hint: usually it happens on weekday mornings.] When you see a notice like the one shown here, you can be assured that your bicycle has been confiscated.

According to a December 2002 article in the Japan Times, the present impoundment release fee of JPY 2,500 (roughly US$23.00) was put in place by Osaka officials in October 2002.  With around 300,000 impounded every year, only a fraction are ever returned to their rightful owners.  Many are left beyond the one-month holding period, after which they are sold off to secondhand bicycle dealers.

Alas, my bicycle is worth quite a bit more than the impoundment fee, so I needed to first get myself to class (a fast walk did the trick) and then figure out how to get to the impoundment site.  I was lucky this time, as my bicycle was at an impoundment station directly in front of the Bentencho train station, so I rode the train from school directly to Bentencho station.

Unfortunately, it’s a long way (about an hour’s ride by bicycle) from Bentencho back to my house.  Since I collected my bicycle uncomfortably close to the closing hour, it was already dark out by the time I got home.  Still, I did get it back the same day, so I was not inconvenienced the following day.  Just 2,500 yen poorer.

Rock 5500 mountain bike

Having a bicycle in Japan is an absolute necessity. It’s the only way to travel, unless the distance is so great that you need to take the train.  Since my arrival in Japan in April 2008, I’d been using a borrowed mountain bike owned by a friend. But that couldn’t go on forever, so when I got my own flat, I also got my own bike.

It’s a Giant brand blue-colored Rock 5500 mountain bike. It’s nothing special in the world of mountain bikes – another Taiwan factory-assembled bicycle – but it’s new, it rides great, and it’s all mine.

I’ve outfitted it with a headlight and a taillight (not only is it safer at night with a headlamp, but it also seems to help avoid being stopped by the police for random ID checks), and I have a pretty super-duty cable lock to help keep it from being stolen. As an aside, Japan is an exceptionally safe country. The safety of your valuables as well as your personal security are virtually assured. But bicycle theft is the one category of crime that is rampant in Japanese cities. The moral of the story is this: buy a good lock and use it.

Yesterday, I stopped at the McDonald’s restaurant in front of the Momodani train station for breakfast and to do a little bit of homework before heading to my Japanese class. What I’d failed to heed was the no parking sign for bicycles. It’s easy to overlook, as such restrictions are universally ignored. But it turns out that this area was to be “swept” of all unattended bicycles … this morning.

So, it was with some shock that, upon exiting the restaurant, I saw that there were no bicycles to be seen in the area. The one I was using was among the missing. To make matters worse, the bike wasn’t even mine: it was a friend’s, whose bicycle I was using until I got around to buying my own. I had to either find the bike or replace it, no matter what.

But at that time it was then just after 9 AM.  With class starting at 9:30, there was no way I could take the time to investigate what happened, although I assumed that all the bicycles had been impounded by the city. After all, everyone knows that the entire area within about 300 meters of a train station is a massive “no parking” area for bicycles.  But everyone also routinely ignores that rule (at their own risk).

So, I hopped in a taxi and headed to class.  Cha-ching! That’s about 1,000 yen (US$10). After class, I walked back to Momodani station and found a bunch of copies of the notice that I’d missed. Fortunately, it included the address of the impoundment lot.  I tore one off the street and hopped in another taxi and asked the driver to take me to the address written on the flyer.

I only know sections of central Osaka; I’m certainly no expert on the city. Therefore, I was wondering how far it might be to get to the impound lot.  Eventually, I asked the driver if it was near or far.  “Far” was the response.  “Quite far.”  And indeed it was.  Taxi fare turned out to be just over 2,500 yen (US$25) Situated in a reservation underneath an elevated expressway, the impound lot was neatly organized and attended by a couple of older guys circulating on bicycles (presumably not impounded ones).

Impound release receipt

Even though there were numerous bicycles there, I quickly found mine. I unlocked the lock on the bike to prove it was mine, and then they collected the 2,500 yen (US$25) impoundment release fee and sent me on my way.  It took about 40 minutes to get back to an area that I recognized, and, with the temperature and humidity being high, I was happy to get home and drink some cold water.

Bicycle parking’s a real problem in Japan, because it is the preferred mode of transportation for many – perhaps most – Japanese residents. But parking all those bikes (and the fact that some are abandoned) leads to congestion. That impoundment lot sure is a long way away. Perhaps inconvenience leads to deterrence?