Parking bikes in large cities
 

We are in Tokyo, where this is not simple.

Because we are not familiar with the language and there is serious risk of bikes being impounded, we'll have to walk or take public transit. Not a deal breaker but mildly annoying.

I am quite familiar with American and European cities and cannot think of a place where this would be a real problem.

Are you aware of places where parking a bike is a meaningful concern?

I usually just observe what the locals are doing. Tokyo is pretty easy, just make sure your bike is out of the way and doesn't sit too long.

Often you are not allowed to park your bike on the street or sidewalk right outside Tokyo train stations at busy times, mainly, mornings and daytime during the week. There might be a lot of bikes parked there but you run the risk of having the city come by with a truck and impounding all the bikes. A bit farther away from the station and you should be fine, or use the local trick of parking your bike out the front of a convenience store or fast food restaurant near the station. There are always bikes out front of these as people pop in to buy something, so lots of people use that to camouflage their all-day parking.

Try asking your hotel front desk. They may be able to explain the rules to you.

Barring that, find someone on a bike, politely ask if they speak English (in your best Japanese, of course), and if so, ask them. Never been to the country myself, but I do work for a Japanese company with enough folks from there, the culture is generally exceedingly polite and helpful.

Just to be clear, we are not looking for options in Tokyo per se. For the record, official parking spaces close to where we stay are full, and the concierge at the building where we stay took our bikes out on the curb (they were under the stairway) for them to be removed by the authorities. Japanese are helpful, but they also adhere very strictly to the rules and we are not in the mood to fight them here and now.

My question was more about *other* cities where parking bikes is an issue.

Theft is my issue in urban areas - a Brompton folder has solved that problem.

Ah.

In that case, I just do as the locals are doing. If everything is attached to a bike rack and nothing else, I find a bike rack. People hate bike racks, so if they are in exclusive use, I have a good idea that there is a reason. If they are parked all over the place, I just find a convenient space where damage is unlikely to occur. I do the same with my locks: if everything is chained up with flimsy cable locks, I have no issue following suit, if both wheels are locked to frames with U-locks and the frame secured with a hardened chain, I'm looking for a bike shop to buy a better lock.

It's actually pretty common, but with everyone using cheap mamachari nobody really cares. I've had more than a few bikes stolen.