why does my apartment have an accumulation of abandoned bikes?

18 comments

1. The yellow tickets are a warning to the owners to remove them. You’ll probably see a removal date on it. People abandon or forget cheap bikes all over Japan. Eventually they get cleared from public or private property. First a courtesy warning is usually given.

2. Someone (probably multiple people) likely stole the bikes and that’s a popular/common dumping ground when they no longer need them. You shouldn’t take the bikes or you can be charged for theft if the cops stop you and run a registration check.

3. ???? Can you use them? You want to ride around on a bike that someone may have stolen for a drunk late night ride home and then dumped, go for it. (Do not use them)

4. Not your bicycles so no you can’t use them.

5. They are probably all stolen. The same thief dumped them in the same place after they got home.

6. They might be stolen, but they also might just be old bikes that someone bought intending to ride and then never built the habit. If they aren’t truly abandoned and you get caught riding them, you could get into a fair bit of trouble (more than a fair bit if they are actually stolen and you get caught by a police officer).

   If they are truly abandoned, then no one will care. But also you have no way of knowing that just by looking at them. And also any bike left so long as to accumulate yellow tickets with their own dust is likely badly maintained. Buy your own bike and lock it.

7. > can i use them??

   Do you want to get arrested for bike theft?

8. Do NOT use them. Bikes are registered and if you decided to ride on a stolen one and are stopped you’re in deep shit.

9. You will know the day you move out.

10. They’re not perfectly good, they’re almost definitely worthless. They’re mamacharis, right? Brand new, they’re 20,000 yen and crappy. Why would anyone want that same bike but 10 years old? Even a good second hand bike is not a lot of money.

11. [Might want to take a hint from this guy](https://www.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comments/xqtip9/forced_to_resign_for_past_actions_options/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=2&utm_term=1)

12. You would have to do it the legal way.
    – Contact the police
    – report the possibly abandoned bicycles
    – tell them you’re interested in them if they go unclaimed
    – some places might say yes after a certain waiting period
    – other places will deny you
    #but never
    – just take a bicycle and assume it’ll be okay because nobody has touched it in forever. They could be reported and were just never found. Then a. Cop doing his citizen stop checks will stop you one day, run the bicycle information, it’ll come up as stolen or missing, they’ll ask you for the paper work, then you get arrested and possibly lose your job. It’s not worth it. Do it right or just buy one from a shop.

13. 90% of bicycles in my apartment look like they are never used. Just rusting nicely in the same parking spots.

14. “it’s not mine, is it okay to just use it?”

    Why would you think this? Seriously?

15. Some people DO take unclaimed bicycles to use but NEVER EVER DO SO, ESPECIALLY AS A FOREIGNER IN JAPAN. They are not yours, don’t use it without permission, simple as that. Same principle applies for other properties as well (old, recycling electronic devices at the garbage sites for example)

16. Because getting rid of anything is a pain in Japan…

17. Mate, if it doesn’t belong to you – don’t touch it. Primary school level of analysis come on

18. I thought there was a form for this? You can make claim to an abandoned bicycle, then do some paperwork and get it registered in your name. Let me look into it.