Tokyo Bicycle Paths

Personally I don’t ride a bicycle in Tokyo but plenty of people do, both locals and foreigners. Technically it is legal to ride a bicycle on sidewalks only where there are signs or special bicycle lanes allowing this, which might surprise you since there are very few of these around. You are also supposed to have lights on at night, not give a ride to any more than one person under the age of seven, not ride while under the influence of alcohol and always give right of way to pedestrians. You often see all of these rules broken on the sidewalks of Tokyo, sometimes even by the police themselves! Legally it is much safer to ride with the other traffic on the streets although I always shudder when I see those daredevils daring the mixed traffic of Tokyo roads.

On one sidewalk however, several months ago, I found this sign permitting bicycles, the first of its kind I’ve ever seen, near Asakusa. A few months after that, I saw another one near Shinjuku. But no matter where you ride, be careful!