Locking Bicycle How Much Lock?

I have a nice folding bicycle that I'd like to bring with me for a Japan trip. Just curious how tough of a lock is necessary for the cities there. Would a cable lock be enough there for a nicer bike? I've read that hardly anyone uses a u-lock there.

I think anything than just the average lock will make thieves go for a different bike.

A a cable lock sounds good, but also keep in mind that a lot of places don't allow bicycle parking. In other words, a lot of places will keep your bike locked or watched safely in return that you pay a few hundred yens, while if you leave it locked on the street or pavement, it is likely to get trucked legally to a far away lot and won't be returned unless you pay a fine.

I'll just bring a cable lock then which would be lighter & easier to deal with.

I've heard about the bike parking thing there. I figure I'll just follow the crowd & put my bike where all the others are.

I wouldn't do that. Plenty of people here take the risk of leaving their bikes near stations and every week I see their bikes being loaded onto a truck by city office staff. They have cutters to get through locks of bikes which have been chained to fences etc as well.

Look for proper bicycle parking, whether city-provided (usually only 100 yen a day) or at department stores (this is usually free for 2 or 3 hours, then 100 yen per hour after that) if you don't want to lose your bike.

Unlike the Japanese people who may know where the impound yard is, you could have quite a hard time finding out where your bike has been taken if it is impounded.

You will see plenty of bikes in station areas, but don't assume that means it's ok- it almost always isn't.

Sira is right. The best thing to do is to ask someone working at the place you stopped for, such as the shopkeeper, museum staff or station staff. They can lead you to a "safe" place to park your bike, be it legal or illegal.

When they truck illegal parking bikes, they stick a note on the pavement saying where you'd find your bike, but this note is in Japanese. If you see no note, that usually means your bike has been stolen, so the best thing to do is to go to your nearest Koban police booth to file a report.

In fact, your bike often turns out after several months or even several years after having a couple of people ride it from one point to another. The police usually identifies it by the official registeration number in Japan, but I don't know how it works for bikes which haven't been registered in Japan.

Bicycle theft seems more common in Japan than most other petty crimes. In fact, there are some Japanese people who will barely think it a crime. More of an annoyance.

Almost any lock will deter most bicycle thieves. The reason is simple. Most people who steal bikes just want some simple transportation for a short period and then abandon the bike later. A few other people may keep the bikes longer. None of the thieves will work that hard to get a bike though. They will simply look for one that isn't secure and believe it or not there are plenty that go unlocked.

The only time I had my bicycle taken was because I left it at the train station too long and it was taken away by the city.

I have a slightly better bike than average here and I only use a simple cable lock which does the trick. As the other posters have noted, where you park is more important. Try not to leave your bike in an illegal spot. If you DO park illegally, you might be fine as long as you don't leave it there for long periods of time. Most stations will have a bicycle storage area, but I find these constantly full.

Good luck!

Yea I'm here in Japan already with my bike. Trying to get an idea of what the locals do. In Osaka atm & there are so many bikes that seem to be just standing there not locked or if so not to anything. I see the no bike parking markings on the sidewalk by the subway station handrails & it seem they don't generally lock them to light posts either so that must be frowned upon. I don't know if I want to just leave a $700 bike locked outside to itself though. But I'm sure the hotel is frowning upon me bringing it in even though bagged up.

It's not so much leaving it there for long periods of time when you park near the station, as leaving it there at the wrong time. If 11am on Tuesdays is the time the city employees come around collecting illegally parked bikes and you parked yours there at 10am, it will get taken away.

Depending on the city, bike parking can often be full before the rush hour ends, yes. Another option is to use department store parking and pay 100 yen an hour after 2 or 3 hours- still cheaper than getting your bike back off the city.

Youth wrote;
"But I'm sure the hotel is frowning upon me bringing it in even though bagged up."

I see no reason for a hotel to "frown upon" their guests bringing bicycles, motorbikes or cars. They're ordinary means of transportation and I'm sure they have a legal and safe space to park it.

Again, as long as you park it legally, bicycles are welcomed means of transportation and ecology. Plus, it is not that difficult to find legal parking as long as you don't mind walking a normal walking distance. Ask around for "chuu-rin-jo (bicycle parking lot)."

Pretty much drunks take bicycles if they can't get home or something.

Any lock is going to deter most of them especially if they are too drunk to figure things out.

A standard lock you can get at a 100yen shop would do the work just fine. I used to park mine right smack in Shibuya with one and never had it stolen.

Express Train wrote:
" I used to park mine right smack in Shibuya with one and never had it stolen."

It's not worth stealing bicycles smack in Shibuya where the surrounding areas are hilly and where houses are far away. It's a lot more convenient there to stay up all night and wait until the first train.

On the other hand, places like the stations along the Chuo Lines, where the land is flat and there are fewer places to stay up and fewer transporation that goes between north and south to the nearby residental areas, bikes are very handy.

In the 3 years of living in Kichijoji, I had my bike stolen 5 times and it came back 3 times from kobans several kilos away. A friend who lived in Koenji even said his fancy bike was "given" to him by a stranger in the early hours of the morning who said, "Go ahead and take it home. I stole this, but I don't need it any more."