Explore Yanesen with Bicycles Designed Just for Tokyo

Located less than a 10 minute walk from both JR Nippori and Metro Sendagi Stations, tokyobike offers trendy rental bicycles so you can explore more of Tokyo’s popular Yanesen area at the perfect pace.

Inside the tokyobike gallery.

The tokyobike line of bicycles was created for a single purpose: to be the perfect bicycle for exploring Tokyo. As such, the design emphasizes comfort over speed. It encourages riders to take it slow, forget about the bicycle, and really take in the character of the area.

This article originally appeared on DiGJAPAN!

This concept is a perfect match for the store’s location in Yanesen. A portmanteau for the neighborhoods of Yanaka, Nezu, and Sendagi, the pace of life in this charming shitamachi or old downtown of Tokyo feels much slower than the bustling crowds of Shinjuku or Shibuya.

Even so, there are countless things to see in this area from famous sites like Nezu Shrine and local landmark Kayaba Coffee. To help visitors to the area see more while still moving at a leisurely pace, tokyobike rents out bicycles by the day.

In addition to bicycles, the tokyobike gallery carries an assortment of bicycle-related goods.

toykobike has two locations in the Yanesen area: a gallery selling bicycles, bike goods, and other select items and a rental shop located a few minutes walk away.

Inside the rental store, there’s a table full of maps and business cards of local shops, cafes, and restaurants to give you some inspiration for your biking tour of Yanesen. The shop also sells beer should you feel like celebrating a successful day’s journey after returning your bike (no drinking and biking!)

To make your reservation, it's recommended to use tokyobike's online reservation page. You can also go to the store and rent a bike at which time you'll fill out a waiver (English available) and pay the rental fee of 2,500 yen. Whether you make your reservation online or in-store, you will need to show a valid ID such as a passport when you go to pick up your bike.

There are four styles to choose from that differ in speeds and vary in design. You can choose the best bike for you in consultation with the staff based on what is available that day. A bike lock with key and a light are included in the price of the rental. You can choose to rent a helmet (recommended-- safety first!) for an additional 500 yen. tokyobike also has some storage lockers where you can stow your stuff for the day for another 500 yen. These are limited in number, so it might be a good idea to travel light on the day of your Yanesen bike adventure.

The staff will help you get acquainted with your new ride.

While you could easily spend the day riding around Yanesen, you’re free to explore further afield should you desire. Asakusa is about a 20 minute bike ride away from Yanesen while Ueno and Skytree are about 30~40 minutes away. And should you find that you’ve fallen in love with exploring Tokyo by bicycle and want another day of it, you can extend your rental at the rate of 1,500 yen per day.
 

Attention

Please bring personal identification to the store in order to rent a bicycle.

A lock with key and a light are included in the rental, and helmets are available for rent at the rate of 500 yen per day. All other necessary items should be prepared by the renter.

The store is not responsible for any accidents, injuries, or other trouble that should occur while using the rental bicycle. Please obey all traffic safety rules and bike responsibly.

Biking while under the influence of alcohol is illegal in Japan.

(Written by Rachael Ragalye/DiGJAPAN!)