No Parking Bike Sign and Fence Osaka Shinsaibashi

駐輪禁止大阪心斎橋

Along a narrow north-south side street in Shinsaibashi, Osaka, an Italian restaurant is fighting the scourge of bicycle parking congestion.

Osaka is more intense than Kyoto, in every way.

In terms of cycling, it is paradise and hell.

The city is flat and compact: perfect for biking. And everyone does.

That means that sidewalks and any open space are clogged with parked bikes.

This restaurant, a few blocks east of the Daimaru Department Store in Shinsaibashi took measures into its own hands.

The fence is an architectural allusion to the "inuyarai" - elegant curved bamboo fences to keep the dogs away - that front many of Kyoto's famed machiya town houses in Gion and elsewhere.

In Kyoto, the purpose is to prevent dogs and drunken salarymen from urinating on the house. In Osaka, it is to prevent cyclists from parking (and drunken salarymen from urinating on the building).

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No Bicycle Parking Sidewalk Symbol Kyoto

京都市自転車撤去区域

The colorful symbol painted onto the street in Kiyamachi, in Kyoto, literally reads:

Kyoto City Bicycle Etc. Beefed Up Towing Area

The dramatic X makes it pretty clear who the violators are: bicycles and scooters.

This area of Kiyamachi is a nightlife part of town, and it is narrow.

Moreover, the closest public bike lots are on Oike or west of Karasuma, neither of which is very convenient.

Thus, as with many parts of the city, some of us park illegally, and all of us walk around bikes on Kyoto sidewalks.

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No Parking Bicycle Sign Sakai Osaka

自転車放置禁止区域境

On a recent trip to Sakai to visit the Bicycle Museum, we strolled around Daisen Park and an imperial tomb en route.

On the way, one sign caught our eye.

"No motor scooter or bicycle parking"

This was on the sidewalk from Mozu Station to the Museum.

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No Cycling Nagoya

自転車等放置禁止区域名古屋市

In the land of Toyota, bicycles are not very popular.

These "stamps" - printed onto the pavement - are ubiquitous in Nagoya.

In spite of a few bike only lanes - very wide sidewalks make planning and execution fairly easy - cycling in Nagoya is not very inviting.

First is the size of the city. It is American in its sprawl, which makes it the anti-Kyoto. Getting from point A to B often means traveling many miles.

Second are the massive boulevards. The city was bombed to the ground during World War II, and when rebuilt it was laid out with huge, wide streets aimed at automobile traffic. Most are not bike-friendly.

Last is the resulting car culture. Nagoya is a car town. It is perhaps the only major city in Japan where living without a car makes life difficult.

Thus, drivers appear to be less aware of cyclists than in other cities. Riding around reminded me in ways of my commute years ago in the US, but minus the aggression.


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No Cycling Sign Kodomo Mirai Kan Kyoto

自転車乗り入り禁止！

And yet another No Biking! sign in Kyoto.

At a former elementary school south of the of the Imperial Palace, the school yard is off limits to cyclists (and motorcycles).

The facility is now a center for children known as Kodomo Mirai Kan (Infancy Outlook House).

It is a bustling place with a daycare center, and many events and activities.

Weekends especially are very crowded with parents and their young children.

There is parking underground for cars, and, in front, for bicycles.


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