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People in Japan don't bring bikes on public transport either (it would be utterly unworkable given the crowding levels), but the transport network is generally

People in Japan don't bring bikes on public transport either (it would be utterly unworkable given the crowding levels), but the transport network is generally structured so that most work/shopping destinations are a reasonable walk from transit. So it's typically only the "home" end where people use bikes, and suburban stations can have massive amounts of bike parking to accommodate people leaving their bikes there while they go off to work or play. [There's parking for many thousands of bikes around the biggest station near my house (distributed amongst many locations of varying sizes, some underground or multi-story)....and no car parking at all.] Because of that greater transit-network density in the more central areas, bike usage is generally greater in the suburbs and slightly less dense areas of the city.

rdl 12y ago
I assume bike-theft in Japan is lower than in a place like Oakland (or even normal parts of the USA), so they can have high density vs. high-security bike parking, too.
- snogglethorpe 12y ago
  So far as I'm aware, yes that's true... There is some theft but I think not so much the pervasive professional theft that seems to be an issue in some other places. The sort of giant bike lock which is pretty much standard equipment in the U.S. is something you almost never see in Japan.... When people lock their bikes at all, it's mostly with very simple locks, thin cable or just a sort of built-in thing that stops the wheels from rotating. That's enough to discourage very casual (or accidental) theft. I guess partly it's cultural, but also compared to the modern U.S., I think expensive high-end bikes are less common in Japan, so maybe bike theft is also less profitable. [Though I have seen obviously very expensive carbon fiber road bikes and the like just locked up in an alleyway with a thin cheap cable lock...!]

rdl 12y ago

I assume bike-theft in Japan is lower than in a place like Oakland (or even normal parts of the USA), so they can have high density vs. high-security bike parking, too.

snogglethorpe 12y ago
So far as I'm aware, yes that's true... There is some theft but I think not so much the pervasive professional theft that seems to be an issue in some other places. The sort of giant bike lock which is pretty much standard equipment in the U.S. is something you almost never see in Japan.... When people lock their bikes at all, it's mostly with very simple locks, thin cable or just a sort of built-in thing that stops the wheels from rotating. That's enough to discourage very casual (or accidental) theft. I guess partly it's cultural, but also compared to the modern U.S., I think expensive high-end bikes are less common in Japan, so maybe bike theft is also less profitable. [Though I have seen obviously very expensive carbon fiber road bikes and the like just locked up in an alleyway with a thin cheap cable lock...!]