If you are a new resident to Tokyo, you may have bought a bike and are having fun riding it around your neighborhood or using it to commute to work – but do you know where to park it? Do you know where to NOT park it? What happens if you park it illegally and it gets taken away?

It can be daunting – especially for someone new to Japan that has trouble reading Kanji. In this mini-guide – we will show you what Kanji you need to know to understand bike parking rules in Tokyo.

Where NOT to park in Tokyo – Churin Kinshi 駐輪禁止

Well first things first, what places are off-limits from parking?  MANY places – and all of them will normally have a clear marker / sign / traffic cone – letting you know loud and clear that you are not allowed to park there.  You will see the kanji 

Churin Kinshi 駐輪禁止 – No Parking Ban / Where you cannot park your bike

 
The chances that you will bump into a blue parking cone, or a no parking sign with these Kanji are virtually guaranteed. They are EVERYWHERE in Tokyo.

This can often be frustrating as they normally appear very close to stations – or areas that would be very convenient for parking your bike when you are running errands or relaxing while riding around on your days off.

The temptation to ignore these signs and pretend that you don’t understand what the “bicycle with a giant X through it” symbol means can get quite large.

You may even see other people ignoring these signs.

This can all be quite confusing. Why do other people do this and why should you not? Why is the world unfair?  These are very good questions.

Each of Tokyo’s 23 wards have different standards around bike parking and different areas have more stringent policies towards what they are willing to ignore.

The bicycle in the photo is someone who figured that they would either be back in time before someone could catch them, or if someone did catch them, they would only receive a warning and not have their bike removed.

Having your bike towed in Tokyo is not fun. You have to find where the illegally parked bike lot for that area is located and then go there to retrieve your bike in person, often in a location that is hard to find and far away from any major train station.

And at some major train stations there are more than one illegal bike parking lot – so asking someone locally may result in a wasted trip to the wrong location.

Additionally, each area has different staff that can decide whether or not they want to simply place a warning paper on your bicycle or actually have it removed.

For this reason, taking the extra time and energy to find a visitor parking lot / pay parking lot is worth the extra ten minutes it takes.

Churinjo 駐輪場 – The correct place to park your bike

 
If you want to be better safe than sorry, you should park your bike in a Churinjo or 駐輪場 – (a shortened version of bicycle parking lot in Japanese).

Most train stations will have a nearby bicycle parking area where you can pay for 1 day use or by the hour, many of these parking lots are automated or have a kiosk with a staff attendant that will help you to rent a parking space.

If you need help finding a parking lot for your bike in Tokyo, you can normally find a list of usable parking lots on the official city ward website.  Shibuya as an example https://www.city.shibuya.tokyo.jp.e.mu.hp.transer.com/est//bicycle.html#1

(Note: Downloading the list ahead of when you need it may be a good idea, as the websites for most city wards are not very mobile friendly and many of the pages that are in english can be in PDF format. Which can be hard to read on certain mobile devices.)

For many of these parking lots you will see the following kanji appear on a sign that also has a list of rates.  

一時利用(Ichiji-riyou) – Hourly/Temporary Parking

当日利用(Toujitsu-riyou) – Use on the Day

一日利用(Ichinichi-riyou) – One Day Use

 
It may also be helpful to understand how to ask the attendant for daily or hourly use.

一日利用 を申し込みたいのです – Tsuitachi riyō o mōshikomitai nodesu

I would like to apply for a daily use.

一時利用を申し込みたいのです – Ichiji riyō o mōshikomitai nodesu

I would like to apply for temporary use.

So if you are able to read these Kanji – you should have an easier time when you need to find a place to park your bike in Tokyo!

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With a focus on speaking and allowing you to learn the language naturally through conversational practice – Coto is a great place to meet new friends and have fun while you learn Japanese. 

Check out our intensive course.

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A little about Nara’s Geography…
Sites across the Prefecture
Behind the Name “Nara”

Would it be possible to unfold Japan’s extensive history without encountering Nara Prefecture (奈良県(ならけん))? Most certainly not. It is here that many of the country’s ancient capitals were built. Where some of the oldest constructions in the world and some of the earliest artifacts of Japan’s cultural heritage stand.
 

A little about Nara’s Geography…

Positioned between five prefectures, including Osaka and Kyoto, Nara Prefecture comprises of 12 cities with Nara-shi (奈良市) as its capital.
Much of the prefecture is covered by mountains and forests, leaving 23% of the prefecture inhabitable. In fact, the total inhabitable area (855.53km²) is one of the lowest amongst all of Japan’s prefectures. This means that a civilisation could have potentially developed in the north of the region, resulting in many of the historic sites being in close proximity to one another.

The abundance of ancient cultural sites in Nara is quite staggering given its size. When compared to other prefectures, Nara had significantly more temples designated as National Treasures as well as UNESCO World Heritage listings. The most popular locations in the prefecture include Nara City – Japan’s first permanent capital. Mount Yoshino – One of Japan’s most famous 花見 (Hanami, Cherry Blossom viewing) spots.  Lastly, Sakurai City and Asuka Village – often referred to as “Cradles of Japanese Civilisation” due to the number of ancient artifacts they hold.
 

Nara City (奈良市(ならし))

Nara City is most renowned for combining two seemingly unrelated things, namely religious sites and deers.
Right in the middle of the city lies Nara Park (奈良公園(ならこうえん)). Here, there are over 1,000 wild sika deer who lead the optimal deer-lifestyle. This includes sleeping, roaming and eating recently purchased deer-crackers from the hands of obliging tourists, all to their heart’s content. The 502-hectare space of Nara Park is designated as a “Place of Scenic Beauty” and also contains another one of Nara’s biggest draws, the Buddhist temple, Todai-ji (東大寺(とうだいじ)).

With the world’s biggest bronze statue of Buddha Vairocana, the world’s largest wooden building and almost 1400 years of history behind it, it would be no shock that Todai-ji is listed as an UNESCO World Heritage Site. When it was first constructed, it served as the head of all provincial Buddhist Temples. Therefore, this gave them the natural right to acquire a substantial amount of power. Although it remains a significant religious site today, much of its power had dissipated. over the years
Taking a 10-minute train journey from Nara City’s centre is yet another World Heritage Site and Buddhist Temple, Horyu-ji (法隆寺(ほうりゅうじ)). With its completion from over 1400 years ago, this makes it one of the oldest wooden buildings still in existence!
 

Sakurai City (桜井市(さくらいし))

Sakurai City is a 30-minute train ride south of Nara City and is most renowned for Hasedera Temple (長谷寺(はせでら)). As with many of the attractions in Nara-ken, Hasedera’s history extends back over many centuries. It was first constructed in the year 686 and wad meant to be dedicated to the Japanese Emperor at that time. The temple grounds include over 30 buildings which extend up until a hillside, with the main hall taking pride in its place at the top of the hill.

Asuka Village (明日香村(あすかむら))

Just 7 kilometres south of Sakurai City lies Asuka Village. A small village consisting of approximately 6000 people. It was here that Empress Gensho, Japan’s 44th monarch, was born. This is also where many of Japan’s oldest artifacts lie. These include Asukudera (飛鳥寺(あすかでら)), where Japan’s oldest Buddha statue sits. Imaicho (今井町(いまいまち)), a well-preserved historic town.
Last but not least, Ishibutai Tomb (石舞台(いしぶたい)), an ancient stone tomb. Asuka was first designated as a historic town in 1966. This has therefore brough about strict laws prohibiting construction work that could potentially impact its cultural heritage.

Mount Yoshino (吉野山(よしのやま))

Admittedly, Mount Yoshino appears to be a bit of a wildcard on this list, but it had to be mentioned.

If your favourite thing about winter is when it finishes, then Yoshinoyama should be on your spring itinerary. During sakura season, Mount Yoshino is overrun with 30,000 different cherry blossom trees. This in turn creates a captivating sea of pink, making it one of Japan’s best 花見 (Hanami, Cherry Blossom viewing) spots.
 

Behind the Name “Nara”

Considering the significance of Nara during ancient Japan, and that the second oldest book of Japanese classical history (日本書紀) was dedicated to one of the Nara Period’s empresses, what do we know about the origins of the name “Nara”?
Unfortunately, nothing much can be concluded from the current kanji. This was since the representative kanji for Nara (奈良) had been changed for over a dozen times already. Yet, there are two prevailing ideas, one from 日本書紀, and another from author Kunio Yanagita. Both of which are linked to the verb ならす (to flatten, to level). What do you think?
 

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The kanji representing Aichi Prefecture (愛知県(あいちけん)) don’t get much better than this do they? 愛(あい)– love and 知(ち) – wisdom.
Aichi regards itself as the heart of Japan by virtue of its location in Japan’s main island of Honshu. And its reputation for innovation in technology, automotive engineering and robotics have helped it to acquire the brain title too.
Aichi is Japan’s fourth most populous prefecture with over seven million inhabitants and 38 cities. Its prefectural capital, Nagoya City (名古屋市(なごやし)) is also the centre of the Chukyo Metropolitan Area (中京圏(ちゅうきょうけん)), the most-industrialised area of the Tokai Region. This is probably unsurprising when we consider that Aichi is the home of the world’s leading vehicle manufacturer, Toyota Motor Corporation.
The most noted cities within the prefecture are: Nagoya-shi most commonly known for its industry related sites and Nagoya Castle. And Inuyama-shi (犬山市) a small castle town less than one hour north of Nagoya.

Nagoya City (名古屋市(なごやし))

Nagoya is based on the Nobi Plain, an extremely fertile area of land, approximately 1,800 km2 , that extends down from Gifu Prefecture. The city was targeted during the air raids of WWII and consequently almost 25% of it was destroyed, including 300-year-old Nagoya Castle (名古屋城(なごやじょう)).

Fortunately, the decision was made to rebuild the castle and it was reopened to the public in October 1959. Despite no longer holding the physical age within its walls, it remains a significant landmark and tourist attraction for the city.
Astronomy, train or automotive geek? Nagoya has got you covered. The Nagoya City Science Museum (名古屋市科学館(なごやしかがくかん)) has the world’s largest planetarium. The Toyota Automobile Museum (トヨタ博物館(はくぶつかん)) – just outside of Nagoya – lets you to get up close and personal with Toyota’s newest and oldest models, and the manufacturing processes behind them. And the simulators in the SCMaglev and Railway Park allow you to be a temporary bullet-train (新幹線(しんかんせん) driver.
You may already know that Tokyo’s Shinjuku Station is the busiest station in the world. But did you know that Nagoya has the world’s largest train station in terms of floor space? This is just one more reason why Nagoya has become a top destination for rail buffs!
Are you familiar with the Japanese deity Amaratesu (天照(てんあきら))? She is also known as Amaterasu-omikami – “the great August god who shines in heaven” – or the “Sun Goddess”. Her legend is significant because according to Japanese mythology, Japan’s Emperors and Empresses were believed to be her direct descendants. This is especially relevant to Nagoya City because it contains the shrine believed to be her resting place – Atsuta Shrine (熱田神宮(あつたじんぐう)).

Inuyama City (犬山市)

Just outside of Nagoya, is Inuyama – which literally means “Dog Mountain”. Contrary to what the name may suggest – Inuyama isn’t undesirable, or filled with 犬(いぬ). In fact, Inuyama is a beautiful city famous for its wooden castle, Inuyama-jo (犬山城(いぬやましろ)).
Inuyama Castle is one of Japan’s 12 castles that has survived in its current state. Completed in 1440, and overlooking the Kiso River, it is Japan’s only privately owned castle.

Some other relics that have survived wars and city re-developments, can be found in Inuyama’s open air museum, Meiji Village (明治村(めいじむら)). Meiji-mura showcases buildings that were constructed during the Meiji Era (1868-1912) and have now been relocated to make a Meiji-style village. It takes the best part of a day and costs 1700 yen to explore the vast grounds of Meiji-mura.

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