buying RECYCLED bikes

Graham and his coworkers are in a temporary office until theirs gets all fitted out. So Graham rides the train to Ginza each morning (about five stops on the Hibiya line) but come January the office will be in Ebisu which is only one stop away. So we had been scouring Craigslist and Gaijin Pot for a used bike so he can ride to work (maybe a 10 minute bike ride). We were not having much luck when we discovered that several wards (what they call neighborhoods in Japan) have programs where they fix up and resell for cheap bikes that get confiscated off the street. So we gathered up the kids in the stroller and headed out one Saturday morning in October.

It was nearby since it was run by our ward (Minato). We signed in and were each given a number and told to walk around and choose three or so bikes that we were interested in. Then about thirty minutes later they put all the numbers in a bingo ball and started calling them out... in Japanese. The three bikes Graham had an eye on were the first three bikes to get chosen. There were probably about 60 people there for thirty available bikes and our number probably got picked on round twenty or so. At least we think it did. It was really hard to understand what was going on. Needless to say, we didn't get a bike.

So, on round two we hit up another ward who we thought did it a little differently. Supposedly, according to the internet, it was a three day sale and you just went and picked out a bike. They would fix it up for you and a couple days later you go back to pick it up. We get there and that is clearly not the case. Almost everyone there has a number that corresponds to a bike they had previously scouted. They open the gates and in a mad dash we actually find ourselves with an available bike that doesn't look half bad. If you want a bike you have to act really fast so Graham grabs the papers and gets in line to check out. An hour or so later, after the bike has been paid for and registered, Graham realizes he will have to ride the bike out of the lot today. So much for getting to work on time. We are out in the boonies. So he gets on to ride it away and realizes it is way too small! Too late!

We still don't know if the bike is for a girl or just a small Japanese man. But the Japanese in general don't seem too concerned about it. I have seen many guys here riding bikes that look too small. Graham's commute is short and the bike was cheap so it will do.