tokyo bike shops/hire places
 

hi.

ill be in japan for a month as of this monday and was wondering if anyone knows of a hire shop or an retail outlet in tokyo that might deal in these bikes
http://www.arrowtr.co.jp/

or something similar for me and my girl. i have searched the forum and cant find that much so if you could perhaps suggest somewhere that might be willing to hire/sell single speed and fixed bikes ill buy you a bottle of sake and a puncture repair kit.

thanks,

jonathan.

not that bike specifically, but i think most places in japan will rent the kinds of bikes most people are riding, which are not so different from that arrow

google 'mamachari'

if you want a bike for a whole month, it would probably be worth buying something and then selling/giving it away..
otherwise, get to the rental places early before all the bikes are gone !

That's a really fun web page :)

Check out this massive thread. There are lots of posts about bike shops in Tokyo. However some of them appear to specialize in selling expensive vintage keirin frames and messenger bags. I googled mamachari and found this. I like the quant little phrase at the end:

:rolleyes:

mamachari/shopping bikes, etc, are great. They've got baskets, racks, easy cruising. I've ridden all over this city on a mamachari. For a month I would say this: go to Don Kihote or other cheap-o place, buy two cheap bikes for about +/- 10,000 yen and ride the ish out of them. If you plan it right you can sell them when you leave. Otherwise, gift them to someone.

That said, if you want bikes to take home with you, the Arrow bikes are cool.
Unless they happen to have two built up how you want at one of the other shops you are probably out of luck. The concept with those is a light custom build. You select color and bar type, etc. You can even go to their workshop up in the mountains and build it up yourself.

All the shops are here: http://www.arrowtr.co.jp/yt.arrowtr/shop2.html

The main shop in Nishiogi is pretty close to my house but when I've been by they didn't have any bikes there, just accessories. The shop in Kouenji and Setagaya have a lot more stock. I think the shops besides Nishiogikubo are franchises of the original.

Another option would be to pick up a 'Tokyo Bike'. I have friends with them who love them, they come in a single speed version (though you might have to order it), they come in foreigner/large sizes/570mm, mixte and 'sport' frame styles, and run about 50,000 or less. The SS version is only 42,000. Maybe a little cheaper if you luck out and find one in stock.

http://www.tokyobike.com/
http://www.tokyobike.com/gifs/ssback.jpg

You can also possible snag a used mamachari for 3-5,000 yen on one of the foreigner greensheets (metropolis, tokyo message board, etc) but it might be a bigger hassle. That would be the way to sell them afterward though. It takes about a week to put up an ad, but I bet you work the timing right and sell the mamachari's on your way home if you take that route.

those bikes are the suck.

i like the suck!

hey thanks nateintokyo that's great info. That place you mention, "don kichote" what is that? A bike shop, market? I found references to a "don quixote" through google but not a address. Also, I noticed some amazing snaps in the Tokyo bike thread that I think you posted, I didnt have time to explore the thread for the shops location, could you share it wth me. Forgive me if it was not you who I am thinking of. Those arrows are pretty nice but I don't think I'm gonna be able to get myself to any of the shops, any idea which one is closest to Tokyo? Thanks jon.

J> http://www.donki.com/index.php
shops> http://www.donki.com/shop/index.php

E> http://www.donki.com/index_en.php?lang=en
shops> http://www.donki.com/shop/index_en.php

^ gold mine

lol. don ki is definitely not a bike shop. basically a flea market in a building. be sure to puck up some of these while you're there:

http://letsriding.com/jjjjapan/bm.jpg

don kihote is a giant mess. I love it. there are better deals to be had elsewhere at times (same goes for Tokyu Hands), but it is still worth a walk down the tightly-packed aisles*


*if you smell smoke, get out safely and quickly! a few years ago a but were arsoned and people got trapped in the labyrinth.



AND----for the Arrow places---those are nearly all in Tokyo. It's a big place ;) good luck!!

thanks all. don kihote looks like it will be my first port of call ill get me a mamachari or 2 for running about. can these be taken on shinkansen at all? ill also be getting some on those black man pants probably the super bikini. well probably be leaving the bikes in tokyo so if anyone has a home for them then pm me and i can leave them with you.

for shinkansen you have to take the front wheel off and cover the bike. probably a hassle for mamachari. there has been some discussion of this in other threads somewhere.

although they can be taken on any trains, any bikes must be covered...and mamacharis will definitely be a hassle. also, there are times of the day/night when, although allowed, it will be impossible to bring it on because of crowds. if you expect that you would like to regularly bring your bikes on the train, i suggest looking for a cheap (& used) folding bike.

to be honest its not that big a deal, i was thinking of taking them up to sapporo but dont think it will be practical. just use them for tokyo. have any of the japan dwellers got any experience with "cycling terminals"?

http://www.cycle-info.bpaj.or.jp/english/begin/st.html

seems like they might be a good bet.