This is the outdoor bicycle parking lot next to the local train station on a Sunday morning. The lot is almost empty and a lot of the remaining bikes have been blown over by the wind. They'll stay that way until Monday morning when their owners arrive - primarily students that live somewhere else but attend school here, and commuters that come to the area to work. By 10:00 am Monday morning the lot will be almost full, packed with bicycles used by local residents to ride the five to ten minutes to the station. Many of them will take the train, sometimes several trains and/or subways, then pick up a bicycle parked at the station closest to their office or school.
Most of the bicycles are simple - extremely functional. On sale you can pick one up for just over 5,000 yen - about USD $50. Since they are so cheap, people don't spend much money on upkeep or repairs. It's not unusual to see rusty bikes, some with almost flat tires, and to hear squeaky brakes and worn bearings. When they finally get to the point where they are unrideable they are often abandoned - usually in a bicycle parking lot like the one above, or on the sidewalk near the station.
Comments