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What’s the deal with bike parking in Osaka?

If you’re in Osaka you might have noticed how bicycles are parked everywhere regardless of whether it is a parking area or a “NO PARKING” area. What’s up with this?

There are two main reasons for this willy-nilly parking of bikes. One is that there simply are too many bikes and not enough official parking spaces. And two, because the authorities secretly admit the first, the parking restrictions are only occasionally enforced. They even put down notices in advance telling you when there will be checks in the area, and you should definitely avoid parking your bike on that day.

That’s not to say that your bike won’t be hauled off if you park it when there aren’t any notices but it is rare esp. if you are parking it for a short while. The lax attitude also varies according to area, so look at what other people living in your area are doing. If you see bikes being parked under no-parking signs day-in and day-out then you’re probably safe.

DISCLAIMER: I will NOT be held responsible if your bike does get taken away. And this information most certainly doesn’t apply in Kobe or Kyoto areas. There they take away bikes for fun.

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