My bicycle has gone missing from the front of the station. What should I do?

A mama chari bicycle, complete with basket and bell

Japan is renowned for its millions and millions of bicycles. Bicycles are probably the easiest, fastest, and least frustrating mode of transportation in big cities. However, bicycle theft is not uncommon, especially in Ibaraki.

You should take the necessary precautions in order to prevent it by making sure you have a good lock. Try locking to something solid as it is not uncommon for people to just pick up your bike and walk away with it to a place they can cut the lock. The small locks that you buy at the 100 yen shop are not sufficient. Neither are the ones that are attached to the back wheel of many bikes. They don't work and can easily be forced.

You can also register your bicycle so that in case it is stolen and recovered, you can be contacted. This can be done at the shop that you bought it or at the police box/station for around 500 yen.

Registration sticker

Registering is important if you lose your bike from in front of the station. It is unusual for bikes to be recovered when stolen. But a lot of the time it hasn't been stolen, but has been collected by the city office for being parked in the wrong spot.

It is possible to retrieve your bike if this happens, but you must prove that the bike is yours and pay a fee. Registering helps this process. Also you may need to show the key to the lock to prove it is your bike.

If it has been stolen, or collected by the city, you need to go to the police to find out where to get it back. They will direct you to the area where bicycles are kept in each town. A fee of approximately 2000 yen will be charged every time you retrieve your bicycle after it has been removed. Our editor Aurélien has had his bike removed 4 times. You think he would learn. Sometimes he just buys a new one because it is cheaper than getting it out of the compound. All this waste is not good for the environment though. . . .

Bikes, bikes and more bikes

Bicycles are not collected every day from in front of the station, but you should still take care. Often a notice will be put up in the days preceding a raid. Or in other cases, a sticker will be placed on your bike to warn you. Sometimes there is no warning. You have been warned!

The best way to avoid losing your bike is to lock it up at a special bicycle parking lot, often located in front of the station. It may be a bit pricey, a couple of 100 yen a time, but you have a lot more security and you won't have to go through the process of getting it back. Some bike parking areas have a subscription system if you use it a lot.

Also, you can be charged for riding a bicycle that is not registered to you. It is not unheard of for police to stop people in the streets to check the registration numbers. Hence, do not steal bicycles from the side of the road; buy them from respectable bike shops.

Here is a list of words and phrases that might be useful in collecting "lost bicycles." You can print it out to take to the police if you need.

Kanji	Japanese	English
自転車	Jitensha	Bicycle
放置自転車	Houchi jitensha	Illegally parked bicycle
駅	Eki	Station
警察	Keisatsu	Police
撤去	Tekkyo	Impoundment
駐輪場	Churinjō	Bicycle parking area
盗難	Tōnan	Theft

My bike has been stolen from the front of the station.
私の自転車は駅の前で盗まれました。
Watashi no jitensha wa eki no mae de nusumaremashita.

My bike has been impounded from the front of the station.
私の自転車は駅の前から撤去されました。
Watashi no jitensha wa eki no mae kara tekkyo saremashita.