Tokyo Bicycle Rental

Does anyone know somewhere in Tokyo that rents bicycles for 2 weeks at a time? Preferably in the Harajuku/Shibuya area as that's where I'm staying.

Rental places seem to require daily return. One I found is by JR Ebisu station's East Exit. There is bicycle parking lot, and they rent them out as well. Open from 6:00 to 22:00.

Since bicycles users/owners have to secure parking spaces to park them overnight (well, otherwise they could get stolen), it might be difficult to find a place that rents over a few weeks. Do you live in Tokyo or are you visiting?

Hi AK, thanks for your reply.

We are just visiting but we have rented an apartment for 2 weeks so I thought it would be good if we could have some bikes to use over the two weeks without having to rent them and return them each day (like car rental). I haven't been able to find anything that offers this though.

This is not really an answer to your question, but I don't think that Shibuya and Harajuku area is fit for bicycles unless you are planning to stick to Yoyogi park. Where there is fun, the streets are too jammed for bikes, and where it's quiet the streets are hilly and narrow. Plus there aren't many places to park your bike, unless you can risk your bike being tolled away for illegal parking. I used to live three stations away from Shibuya and have ridden my bicycle to Shibuya/Harajuku, and while it was a nice adventure, it's not something you'd want to do every day. At least you might not feel welcomed.

As mentioned, you can rent bikes for a day at various places in Japan, and that I'd say might be suitable for tourists. Otherwise, try talking to the apartment owner and see if they can personally rent you their bike. At a lot of small family-run inns, owners would often lend bicycles to their guests for free.

Thanks for your input UCO. We are staying in Jingumae and it's about 750 metres from a few different subway stations and about 2km to Shibuya so I was thinking we could ride to the subway, Shibuya and Harajuku. If the area isn't so good for bikes maybe we'll give it a miss then.

Can I just ask, where are bikes allowed to park? Just at the designated bike racks near stations?

they rent bike for 900 all day or 600 for 4 hours - located near Nakameguro Station - at end of Hibiya line. Only 15 minutes ride to Shibuya, 30 to Harajuku.
That place mentioned at Ebisu station and probably some of the other stations is 200 yen just for parking - not renting!

AusEz,

I'm sorry I didn't recognize your new question on parking until now. Really there are hardly proper bike parking lots in Tokyo, but it's not that all the legal ones are "racks." Look for a sign that says 駐輪所 (bike parking lot). A lot of people park them in a supermarket bike lot and shop on the way home. Anyway, park at your own risk if you're in central Tokyo. Btw, it's quite common for locals to walk 20 minutes to a station. Otherwise they take buses.

It's hardly worth riding a bicycle to a station 750 m away- the bike parking buildings are often further away from the station than that! As above, if you park illegally outside a station, particularly in central Tokyo, chances are good that your bike will not be there when you get back.

Cool Bike may be your answer. Look for its link on this page: http://cycle-tokyo.cycling.jp/shops.html#i2

It's true that there is some hassle involved in riding a bicycle in Tokyo, but it is definitely a great experience. I do it all the time. I have lived in two different places within a few km of Shibuya station, and I think the the previous poster's time estimates from Nakameguro are very generous. Firstly, you might be able to negotiate renting or borrowing a bike for 2 weeks with shops that don't advertise longer term rental. I have borrowed a bike for free from a high end shop in Shibuya before..so you never know. Just ask. Also, if you just want to ride 750m and then get on the train, it really isn't worth it, but if you want to explore a bit, riding in Tokyo is great. Depending on your fitness level and comfort in traffic, in a lot of cases you can get around faster than the train and you get a much nicer perspective of the city. As for parking, that is tricky, but as long as you have a safe place to park at night, it isn't such a big problem. Do not park you bike at a station over night or before the morning rush ends during the week. Weekends are not so much of a problem, the bike police are way more relaxed.
good luck with finding bikes and have fun.

Beginning to sound like by the time you add up your total likely rental outlay over such a fairly long period, that you will have spent as much as a bike may have been purchased for anyway.
I too am researching the issues and problems of either bringing a bike to Japan with me to amble around including Tokyo, versus places where ones that have been dumped or confiscated might be bought cheaply or from a private owner or departing backpacker etc.
This issue of parking charges for bicycles is yet another curve ball that seems to have been tossed into the mix.
I origially thought this was going to all be a snap, as this is such a bicycle-born country, with, I thought, advanced cycling infrastructure.