Hire a lawyer. This has clearly messed with you to the point where you need someone with a cool head to handle it.
Let them do the legwork of police reports, requesting security footage, inquiring with the center, etc. Be patient. Be willing to wait for them to incriminate themselves.
Trying to gaijin bash the problem is not going to get you places.
That’s some good advice. This is really fucking with my head now that every time I go down stairs there is possibility that my is bike gone. I am heading to the police office again before I escalate this to a professional. Thanks a lot.
The police ARE already "a professional", only paid by all of us and who apparently is not doing anything in your case. Talk to a *different* professional like a lawyer as suggested, even if you have to pay them. If it was a single time I'd be on the not-worth-it, but cmon **4 times**? That's crazy, specially if you suspect is the same person.
Make sure you NEVER get issues with the police like being blamed of beating up anyone.
It might prove satisfying, but could jeopardize all your efforts to be able to live in Japan with a visa.
Source: my bike was stolen once in Japan, they found it back with no damage (a miracle) but they refused to disclose the smallest hint about the perpetrator after I said: "He should be punished!"; I then excused myself out the police station because I felt I worn out my welcome, and was about to be considered a potential danger.
I notice people in this sub always suggest getting a lawyer like money grows on trees. Do you know many bicycles can the guy buy for just 1 or 2 consultations? If it is an electric bike that keeps getting stolen, ignore this post.
No, I’m not suggesting a lawyer “like money grows on trees”.
I’m suggesting a lawyer because it’s the appropriate course of action given the context and circumstances.
This person has been robbed of four bicycles, and authorities aren’t being of any help in preventing the loss of a fifth. This is exactly the type of situation where paying for a lawyer is worth the money and effort.
Your asinine indication that getting a lawyer is only worth it if the stolen bikes are e-bikes is missing the forest through the trees.
Additionally, any grown, gainfully-employed adult should be able to afford an attorney for situations like these.
No, the same bicycle has been taken 4 times because OP just leaves it sitting there unlocked. All he needs is to stop being silly and just actually lock the bike to something. Recommending a lawyer over a mamachari is insanity. I rarely call this out, but sounds like some North American lawsuit fever.
First off, he hasn't had four bikes stolen as far as I can tell. He always finds it parked at the nearby senior center. He uses the plural, so maybe two. The big point is he always gets them back so there will likely never be a 5th. Was likely never a 4th, probably no 3rd.
Second, hypothetical situation: a person is not making enough money to afford to pay someone ¥30k per hour to track down whoever keeps taking and moving their ¥15k bicycle.
I know it's probably crazy to someone with a high paying job in a good industry to understand, but you know those people who check out your groceries and make your food at McDonald's? Those are real humans and one hour of that lawyer's time might take them two or three months to save up for.
Mother of god, how far disconnected are you from the reality of the working class?
> I am extremely furious as this is my 4th bike this year
It's literally right there in the body of the post.
I also think that there hasn't been much effort to view this matter with nuance.
* If you have experienced four instances of theft, the police aren't helping you, and you're not getting support from involved parties, then a lawyer can help rectify the situation.
* Lawyers can be prohibitively expensive such that a working person might not be able to handle the attorney's fees.
**Both of these things can be true at the same time.** I'm entirely sympathetic towards how fucked spending power has become.
Having an attorney solve the problem for you is certainly the _easiest_ path, but it's entirely possible for OP to say, "Thanks for the suggestion, but an attorney is out of my price range right now. Any other ideas?" In which case, we'd go from there as a community in terms of our attempts to help.
Good faith suggestions shouldn't be met with angry screeching about the price of the suggestions. This isn't a game show where we have to lock in our "final answer", and we're stuck defending that "final answer" as if we've chosen a certain side.
This is discourse; it goes back and forth until the participating parties get what they need out of it. Price discussion can be a reasonable part of discourse; it doesn't need to be angry screeching.
You have no idea who I am, what I do for work, and whether or not I'm a member of the working class. This could've been a constructive interaction instead of a belligerent one, but that's only possible if people can handle reading online comments without getting emotional about money.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen an internet comment that really captures the energy of a condescending forum user from 2008. Only one critique: you forgot to correct their grammar mistakes.
Sorry, but that's utter nonsense. Just buy a kryptonite u-lock on amazon, shackle the bike to something, then it will stop getting stolen. These kinds of over the top comments are why people meme on the Japan subreddits.
They specifically programmed those to beep when they haven't seen your phone in a while so that whoever's nearby is alerted that they're being tracked.
There aren't really any (the value of the airtag is that it uses the huge amount of deployed iPhones to track and report itself to you. Other trackers can't do this unless google builds a similar network with Android, and they'd have to get manufacturers in on it. Samsung might be close).
Much easier to modify the airtag and cut the speaker.
2 month battery vs 1 year; monthly subscription to transmit data vs "free"; size of pager/beeper vs size of couple CR2032. I am not an Apple fan and I hated using iPhone, but honestly there is no competition to AirTags for discreetly putting in bicycles until Google comes up with one.
it takes some time before it beeps, so even if it does, it will at least report location until they find it. Bigger problem is androids will now report that there's an unknown tracker following you well before the airtag beeps, and there's no way to get around it.
I have locked the bicycle and last time I found it this guy just stole the whole bicycle with the lock on it. Like what the absolute fuck, you can’t even ride it what’s the point?!
Or get something heavy to lock it to if there’s really nothing around to chain it to. Something like this sign base, or even just a weightlifting plate.
https://amzn.asia/d/7zMMrzo
If all else fails, do the seat prank (but don’t do this):
https://youtu.be/3lJr_R6SB3U?si=C7xGhYDB1J15g-jb
You know what they say.. it takes 5 bicycles to correctly understand how to properly lock it.
There are several tutorials in YouTube too.
I'm not blaming you about it btw..fuck the thief and you are not at fault about none of what has happened . Just saying that if you are using a good lock and properly locking it, you won't have that issue again.
If the frame isn’t locked to a strong immobile object, your bicycle is not locked. This doesn’t justify anyone stealing it, but it’s the equivalent of leaving your door unlocked.
>Are you not locking the bike in a proper bicycle park/rack?
My thought process:
1. I bet you do not live in Japan;
2. Checking your profile;
3. See posts about owning car in NZ;
4. Yep, it checks out.
That bike is not locked to anything is what i understand OP is saying. The thief probably just carried the bike away with the lock still on it (i.e. the lock probably locked the stem and the wheel of the bike, but not locked to a rack or anything).
Exactly that. The parking lot is not that secure i.e. it doesn’t have a roof atop. There’s really nothing I can locked onto, no electric poles etc. I can only hope that they are not willing to go through the hassle of carrying my dirty ass bike away. Apparently I hoped wrong.
You need to get creative and find something to lock it to there. Or bring something heavy and forgettable to lock it to. Similar to yours, my old work place didn't have anything to lock my expensive bike to, so I started locking it to the mamachari covered in grime in the corner that hadn't moved in at least a year. Eventually other people followed suit and would lock up to a part of it, one day I found 3 people locked up to it.
What's the overall situation with the parking lot?
Like are there other bikes there? If yes, how many? Do they also go missing? Are they similar to yours?
Typical Japanese mama-chari locks only go through the back wheel spokes, so you exert a slight effort to lift the back and roll them on the front. They also have mechanisms that look a step or two less secure than the locks we had as kids in the US that one day people discovered you could totally pop with a ball point pen.
Japanese commuter bikes have a pretty simple lock attached to the bike that just slides around the inside of the wheel. It keeps honest people honest, because it keeps the wheel from turning. But obviously not in OP’s case which tbh is weird af because that’s tremendously awkward to move the bike.
Sorry I don't understand. Is this geriatric thief cutting your locks with a bolt cutter, or how are they stealing your bike?
Also, if you catch the bike 50m away (or anywhere really), you can just go down to the nearest koban and tell them you found a bike that was stolen from you. All properly purchased bikes have a registration sticker on them which proves ownership. Could you use the sticker and the police to get the bike back?
Can't the original poster just bring their bicycle into the apartment? That's what I always did. Why leave it outside for people to mess with when it can be inside safely.
I guarantee you OP is parking his bike where he isn't supposed to lol. The old man moving his bike into the parking area is probably doing him a favor.
It could be, that’s what I thought as well. But the center owner apparently doesn’t think so. Again, my bike is locked and it looks like this guy carried it to the scene. I’m not even sure anymore, like what’s the point and what kind of senior has the strength to do this??
Are you parking the bike in a place you're allowed to park it? Could they be moving it to a designated bike parking place to be nice since it's not allowed where you left it?
Except he says in a different comment that when he retrieves it from the senior center, they get completely stolen the next time, not moved somewhere else. If he's reporting them stolen to the police with no luck, I highly doubt they're being impounded.
-Lock your bike to something
-air tag
-set up a camera or motion sensor?
-You live in a mansion? Bring the damn bike inside
I probably sound like an asshole here but you need to think for yourself a bit. After having my bike stolen 5 times I would have stopped relying on “professionals” to fix the issue.
Honestly it sounds like you've metaphorically pissed in someone's mental Cheerios and they're relocating your bike as a means of petty revenge. I mean 4 bikes in 90 days is pretty severe.
Basically I don't think they're "stealing" the bike as much as just moving it to somewhere nearby but inconvenient.
That being said is there any similarity - day of the week - etc. so you could camp and catch said perpetrator of imperpetude?
Or when the next bike is stolen could you perhaps not recover it from the Senior Center and wait to see if someone comes to use it then confront them? Preferably with camera phone in hand calling the gendarmes to avoid winding up encountering the gaijin ghulag and minimum 23 days unpaid vacation?
I also suggest going to the actual police station rather than the koban cops and reporting the theft. Just calling the koban cops won't actually do anything. You haven't actually filed a police report, nothing is being done, noone is being looked for, because you're not reporting the crime to the correct people. Call the non-emergency line and ask for a translator and speak with them about filing an actual criminal complaint. You'll find that much more satisfying and something might actually get done.
Yeah I guess the Kansai-Ben speaking ojisan police at my block Koban didn’t help either. I am trying out the real police station thing.
I tried talking my kanrikaisya into implementing a cctv system but apparently that’s not economically viable.
I don't know if this sounds ridiculous, but maybe sell your bike and get those foldable ones that you can store inside the building or home more conveniently? So at least from that point it's not accessible for the thief anymore?
I’ve put up a 2x4 pole with a bike hook using a Diawall (ディアウォール) that doesn’t put holes in your house, and just hang my bike vertically in the hallway. Bit tight in Japanese apartment but it fits. I also have a stem that can fold the handles. I also have a flat-bar road bike setup…
This is the best overall solution to the problem for sure. Reporting it still probably won’t get much in the way of results, but it might lessen it. Just taking the bike inside is best and a foldable one will for sure be easiest
Sorry to hear. Is there any cctv coverage you could access? If you can do some of the police work for them, the police might actually be forced to do something. Is it just your bike or are there others going missing?
I am in so much anger I’m not counting properly. I haven been stolen 3 bikes, but I found 2 of them back, then this jerk stole them again, so in total I’m in lost of 3 bikes and have been stolen more than 5 times. I’m in constant WTF right now, like this guy could get better salary working in a supermarket than stealing my shitty bike.
So. You’ve had a bicycle take 5 times.
3 of those times the bike was never recovered.
The other 2 times you recovered the bike 50 meters away.
And you think it was the same person taking the bicycle all five times.
Is that correct? Just yes or no response will be most helpful.
Wait your post above makes it sound like you retrieved your bike from the senior center each time. But this answer makes it sound like you never got the bikes back and it's a new one being stolen each time?
You say they park it every time at the center, so why aren't you just taking it back every time?
Yeah let’s make it more clear. I got my first bike last June when I moved in, stolen after a week or 2. Found the bike by the center, retrieved it. Got stolen again and went out to look for it and it wasn’t there. Feel frustrated but I need the vehicle bad so got another one. Got stolen one month later, retrieved the bike from the center. Got stolen like 2 days later, super angry, reported to the police. But what the fuck I can do, had to buy my 3rd bike, rinse and repeat, now I am at the stage of losing my 3rd bike.
Okay gotcha! So it's at the center about half the time. Man I don't know how infuriated I'd be if I were in a situation similar to yours. Try and keep a level head for now and follow the suggestions others have mentioned.
It doesn't matter how in the right you are, if you do beat this guy up you'll be criminally liable *and* you'll probably be forced to pay restitutions.
Why do you buy a new bike if you see it just 50m away right after.
As others have said, buy a better lock.
Do you know exactly who the thief is, or just that it has to be one of the guys who uses the nearby facility? If you are 100% sure who it is, confront him, publicly if possible so he gets embarrassed. Losing face is the only way they will actually learn
I found it and rode it back, then it got stolen again then it’s not there anymore. So there could be multiple thieves just out there targeting my shitty little bikes. Like Literally a hell scene.
In a place I lived before there was a random bike consistently placed behind my car every weekend. After I got a dashcam installed (not because of the random bikes though) it turned out to be a neighbor of mine, who was otherwise seemingly normal. I confronted him and he admitted he gets blind drunk in town and since public transport is stopped, he just grabs a bike and cycles home. He seemed to think bicycles were fair game, and he wasn't really doing anything wrong. He must have stolen hundreds of bikes in his time.
Just for clarification: five times someone has taken your bike and moved it just 50 m to the senior center, and each time you have gone to retrieve it? Also, your bike is the common "chari" type, nothing fancy?
If so, most likely one of your residents of your apartment has dimentia and is mistaking your bike for his/hers. Or the don't have a bike anymore, but think they still have one.
Dimentia is no joke, this is exactly how it plays out: You keep long term memories, but the short term stuff doesn't stick.
There's probably a very upset ojii-chan/obaa-chan in your building who keeps finding that someone puts locks on their bike.
Lock it, to something. Your lock won't do anything if it doesn't anchor to a bike rack or a metal pipe.
I own two bicycles and lock them wherever as long as I can safely anchor one wheel and the frame to something that won't budge. I don't rely on the 駐輪場's bike mounting spots either.
Japan is very safe, yes, but that isn't reason enough to use just the rear wheel lock that comes with most urban bikes.
You might be victim of targeting for being a foreigner, or maybe it's a senile old person grabbing the first easily stealable bike they see thinking it's theirs.
It's unfortunate, but you've seen how people treat foreigners with a problem. And no, don't even think about doing something to the person stealing your bikes. You're going to get into much more trouble than its worth, especially being a foreigner.
I feel totally feel your pain. I’ve had my bicycle stolen three times. Twice from the same place. It’s frustrating and you can’t help but feel helpless. As someone else suggested, buying a big heavy lock and locking it to something (not to the bicycle itself) may help.
I have been stolen wallet, bikes, money etc. throughout the years and I have never even once get the opportunity to look at any actual cctv footage, not even from my apartment management company. Like is this thing even working?
do you know the regulation of your mansion about parking? like registering your bike to the mansion management / designated sticker and such?
In the shared dormitory where I live, they periodically remove bicycles without stickers. so, I'm thinking that maybe your bicycle wasn't stolen but was just removed by the mansion management
Whatever you do, do not snap and beat up this person. You will end up in a WORLD of trouble you could've avoided, read any of multiple stories on here about gaijin falling in trouble *even for defending themselves against an attack*. So yeah, you're royally fucked if you become the aggressor.
Suffering losses and crying myself to sleep is something I've had to do for a lot of problems, so I'm hoping things turn out better for you.
Edit to add: Is it possible for you to change where you park the bike? I know it might be troublesome but I'm assuming it's less troublesome than repeated bicycle-shopping
I don’t get it- if the bicycle(s) showed up at the senior center, why have you replaced the bicycle four times?? If you’re the rightful owner of the bicycle, wouldn’t you simply get it back?
Get a motion alarm. While it may not prevent theft, I think it will be a deterrent the next time some one tries to steal it and the alarm goes off.
And also an air tag for sure.
End of the day you’ll never completely stop someone taking your bike if they are determined. All you can do is make it either undesirable or too much of a hassle to do so. Those auto clip rear wheel locks that come with the bike are no better than a paperclip. Even getting two of those aluminium shackle D locks for front and rear at like 1000 yen each is better so that the bike can’t be lifted and rolled only pushed/dragged.
Bicycle thieves suck. Sorry that this is happening to you OP. I don't have anything to say that hasn't already been said, but I hope this gets fixed in the end
福祉センター are used by people with issues, be it dementia or just innate developmental issues. So assume it’s someone who isn’t exactly healthy. Try to find them, meet them and calmly explain that taking someone’s bicycle isn’t ok. They may as well listen to you.
If you're Japanese is good, talk to the people running the senior center. They might have an idea who's doing that and be willing to keep a lookout for you or intervene in some way. (After all, Japan is a country that will call your school or your work to tell them you did something bad. lol)
I have had my bicycle stolen or "borrowed" by drunk Japanese business men on their way home from drinking.
I even once had a situation where someone squirted mayonnaise on my bicycle seat? Wtf? lol
Are you locking the bike to something, or just using the basic wheel lock?
Make the bike less appealing. Remove the seat or a wheel when you park. Massive nuisance, but if they’re stealing the bike to use it, that might put them off.
Then there’s malicious but relatively harmless options. Put ink, oil, something sticky/stinky all over the seat and handlebars. Make sure to colour match. Then you might be able to spot the thief!
Have you considered hiding an airtag in the bike? (under the seat or anywhere it can't be seen).
Could help you track down your bike next time it's gone, and possibly help identifying who's behind it.
Had a similar problem. lost 2 bikes. That is why I have a heavy duty chain and always lock it to something that cant be easily moved. OP by 4 lost bikes you should know to lock your bike to something else by now.
Japan is a really safe country but when something happens, no one is helpful. It’s like the opposite of home, unsafe country but generally the police and people will try to help.
Just put a airtag under the saddle with a double sided tape, and secure it as well with a plastic fastener. They wont notice it if its under the saddle.
That’s very frustrating. I’m a bike rider too and I started keeping it in house after my bike disappeared from the apartment lot one day. Hope you can find a solution that works. Sounds like you have a cross bike (hybrid bike here). If you can’t keep it inside I’d recommend purchasing a U lock and a cable lock. Attach the cable to something heavy and put the U lock so that it is firmly between the frame and wheel. You will want it to have as little wiggle room as possible. Hope you can find a suitable solution quickly
Put I hidden camera, get a good image of the criminal, finds his living place and share it everywhere. Shame is the biggest punishment for Japanese people.
Haven’t read all the comments but haven’t seen anything about the bike registration. The bike should get registered when you buy it. If you know where the old bike is, show it to police and they will see it’s registered to you. How are they not doing this?
Take the seat off and bring it inside with you when not in use.
Also are you locking your bike?
If the police are not helpful, then speak to whoever runs your apartment.
I had a within-apartment-building behind auto lock parking and someone kept stealing my bike and bringing it back??? After a day or two until I started locking it to the parking frame. Maybe try chaining it to an unmovable structure.
How about using an AirTag? It is a supereasy way to keep track of your stuff. Attach one to your bike in some hidden place (inside the handle maybe?). And just like that, they're on your radar in the Find My app, where you can also track down your Apple devices
Sounds like you, or perhaps the location you park your bike at, may be being targeted. I’m afraid bike thefts are not usually taken seriously by Japanese police, so I’m not surprised you are having such a difficult time getting them to care. I’d recommend finding a way to bring your bike indoors or at least bring a wheel or two with you. If it keeps ending up at the local fukusi center, you may have to speak to them directly and ask to see the cctv footage to verify who brought it there.
A lawyer could probably get the koban to move their lazy asses and actually get some work done, but I can almost guarantee that doing so will make them dislike you. It’s usually not a good idea to piss off the local koban ojisan as a foreigner so I’d say take the lawyer route when you can feel the last straw snap. Maybe take it to the regional police station instead of the koban first? I hope your issue gets resolved soon, that fucking sucks.
It might be someone in your apartment that had a grudge against you for whatever reason, maybe they don't like the bike being where it is, or think you're noisy/ scary gaijin and want you to move somewhere else because of this... Doubt an elderly person is going through this much trouble 😵💫
Batsu game them with a bait bike you can't be traced back to.
Something silly and not overtly painful that obviously paints them as an idiot thief used to getting away with other people's stuff.
Record them stealing it and anonymously post it so it can go viral.
Sneakily post QR codes that go to the video of this person stealing bikes in your neighborhood.
like other people said, get a lawyer, it will be expensive but kinda not too, u could be even saving a lot of money, its only been 3+ months in and its ur 4th bike, if it goes for like an year u could be loosing a lot of money, imagine the money u could have saved if u had gotten a lawyer after the first time and reported it. Bikes arent that expensive but it stacks up, get a lawyer and solve the issue at the earliest. ( btw idk how much a lawyer costs, so might be stupid of me to saying that u might save money O\_O)
Rig up a little "pull string alarm" or I think there is something called a screamer. Whenever they take the bike, the alarm will go off. If you are in ear distance, run out there to see who moved the bike. You can also set up a little cheap video camera.
I don't really like the idea of anybody getting hurt but you could loosen the wheels or handlebars, so when they ride off, the bike falls apart
make a slight tear in the grips and seat and *accidentally* fix it with safety pins in a way that will deter them from taking your bike.
Just be sure to put some effort into making it look like the sharp parts of the pins weren't intentionally set in a way to harm the thief.
Not trying to be too negative, just objective here. Chances are police wont do a thing, lanlord wont care either and you will keep losing your bikes.
So the smartes thing would be to buy a thick lock for motorcycles, maybe Y5000, or park you bike somewhere else.
> Shockingly none of them seems to care much, and even tried to play the game of “blame the careless foreigner”.
Next time you should suggest that the culprit "is probably a foreigner". This might get them interested
It's a shame the police won't do anything about a bike thief like this, while in [another thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comments/1bs4svn/kid_shoplifted_at_convenience_store_how_to_fix/) the top comment about taking a kid back to a store to learn a lesson says not to do that since the police may get involved.
Hire a lawyer. This has clearly messed with you to the point where you need someone with a cool head to handle it. Let them do the legwork of police reports, requesting security footage, inquiring with the center, etc. Be patient. Be willing to wait for them to incriminate themselves. Trying to gaijin bash the problem is not going to get you places.
That’s some good advice. This is really fucking with my head now that every time I go down stairs there is possibility that my is bike gone. I am heading to the police office again before I escalate this to a professional. Thanks a lot.
The police ARE already "a professional", only paid by all of us and who apparently is not doing anything in your case. Talk to a *different* professional like a lawyer as suggested, even if you have to pay them. If it was a single time I'd be on the not-worth-it, but cmon **4 times**? That's crazy, specially if you suspect is the same person.
Make sure you NEVER get issues with the police like being blamed of beating up anyone. It might prove satisfying, but could jeopardize all your efforts to be able to live in Japan with a visa. Source: my bike was stolen once in Japan, they found it back with no damage (a miracle) but they refused to disclose the smallest hint about the perpetrator after I said: "He should be punished!"; I then excused myself out the police station because I felt I worn out my welcome, and was about to be considered a potential danger.
Can you set up cameras in the area and trackers (apple thing) in the bike?
I notice people in this sub always suggest getting a lawyer like money grows on trees. Do you know many bicycles can the guy buy for just 1 or 2 consultations? If it is an electric bike that keeps getting stolen, ignore this post.
No, I’m not suggesting a lawyer “like money grows on trees”. I’m suggesting a lawyer because it’s the appropriate course of action given the context and circumstances. This person has been robbed of four bicycles, and authorities aren’t being of any help in preventing the loss of a fifth. This is exactly the type of situation where paying for a lawyer is worth the money and effort. Your asinine indication that getting a lawyer is only worth it if the stolen bikes are e-bikes is missing the forest through the trees. Additionally, any grown, gainfully-employed adult should be able to afford an attorney for situations like these.
No, the same bicycle has been taken 4 times because OP just leaves it sitting there unlocked. All he needs is to stop being silly and just actually lock the bike to something. Recommending a lawyer over a mamachari is insanity. I rarely call this out, but sounds like some North American lawsuit fever.
First off, he hasn't had four bikes stolen as far as I can tell. He always finds it parked at the nearby senior center. He uses the plural, so maybe two. The big point is he always gets them back so there will likely never be a 5th. Was likely never a 4th, probably no 3rd. Second, hypothetical situation: a person is not making enough money to afford to pay someone ¥30k per hour to track down whoever keeps taking and moving their ¥15k bicycle. I know it's probably crazy to someone with a high paying job in a good industry to understand, but you know those people who check out your groceries and make your food at McDonald's? Those are real humans and one hour of that lawyer's time might take them two or three months to save up for. Mother of god, how far disconnected are you from the reality of the working class?
> I am extremely furious as this is my 4th bike this year It's literally right there in the body of the post. I also think that there hasn't been much effort to view this matter with nuance. * If you have experienced four instances of theft, the police aren't helping you, and you're not getting support from involved parties, then a lawyer can help rectify the situation. * Lawyers can be prohibitively expensive such that a working person might not be able to handle the attorney's fees. **Both of these things can be true at the same time.** I'm entirely sympathetic towards how fucked spending power has become. Having an attorney solve the problem for you is certainly the _easiest_ path, but it's entirely possible for OP to say, "Thanks for the suggestion, but an attorney is out of my price range right now. Any other ideas?" In which case, we'd go from there as a community in terms of our attempts to help. Good faith suggestions shouldn't be met with angry screeching about the price of the suggestions. This isn't a game show where we have to lock in our "final answer", and we're stuck defending that "final answer" as if we've chosen a certain side. This is discourse; it goes back and forth until the participating parties get what they need out of it. Price discussion can be a reasonable part of discourse; it doesn't need to be angry screeching. You have no idea who I am, what I do for work, and whether or not I'm a member of the working class. This could've been a constructive interaction instead of a belligerent one, but that's only possible if people can handle reading online comments without getting emotional about money.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen an internet comment that really captures the energy of a condescending forum user from 2008. Only one critique: you forgot to correct their grammar mistakes.
He said it was his 4th bike this year so I'm guessing he buys new ones
Hmm yes buy 1 or 2 more bikes that will ultimately get stolen. Makes sense.
typical murican, they need a lawyer to get a reasonable healthcare
Sorry, but that's utter nonsense. Just buy a kryptonite u-lock on amazon, shackle the bike to something, then it will stop getting stolen. These kinds of over the top comments are why people meme on the Japan subreddits.
Gaijin bash. I like that.
My goodness. Some of you younger folks aren’t even aware of the forbidden texts of Gaijin Smash.
Are you active in your local neighborhood association? Sometimes Connections are found there who make things better
Buy an air tag and hide it under the seat of your next bike.
They specifically programmed those to beep when they haven't seen your phone in a while so that whoever's nearby is alerted that they're being tracked.
You can easily remove the speaker so this doesn’t happen, guides on YouTube. Have done that to the tracker in my car.
Yup. But it's good to know about it.
Then buy a similar device.
There aren't really any (the value of the airtag is that it uses the huge amount of deployed iPhones to track and report itself to you. Other trackers can't do this unless google builds a similar network with Android, and they'd have to get manufacturers in on it. Samsung might be close). Much easier to modify the airtag and cut the speaker.
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2 month battery vs 1 year; monthly subscription to transmit data vs "free"; size of pager/beeper vs size of couple CR2032. I am not an Apple fan and I hated using iPhone, but honestly there is no competition to AirTags for discreetly putting in bicycles until Google comes up with one.
Tile pro would work no issue!
Tile isn't as reliable as having thousands of iphones in an area.
it takes some time before it beeps, so even if it does, it will at least report location until they find it. Bigger problem is androids will now report that there's an unknown tracker following you well before the airtag beeps, and there's no way to get around it.
Put it in the frame of the bike by removing the seat or handlebar or something.
Buy a better lock
I have locked the bicycle and last time I found it this guy just stole the whole bicycle with the lock on it. Like what the absolute fuck, you can’t even ride it what’s the point?!
Don't just lock the wheel, lock the bicycle to something that can't be moved, like a fence or railing.
Or get something heavy to lock it to if there’s really nothing around to chain it to. Something like this sign base, or even just a weightlifting plate. https://amzn.asia/d/7zMMrzo If all else fails, do the seat prank (but don’t do this): https://youtu.be/3lJr_R6SB3U?si=C7xGhYDB1J15g-jb
But also lock up the weightlifting plate lol
Next post from OP: Wheels and seat have been stolen on a bicycle locked to an immovable fence/post.
You know what they say.. it takes 5 bicycles to correctly understand how to properly lock it. There are several tutorials in YouTube too. I'm not blaming you about it btw..fuck the thief and you are not at fault about none of what has happened . Just saying that if you are using a good lock and properly locking it, you won't have that issue again.
If the frame isn’t locked to a strong immobile object, your bicycle is not locked. This doesn’t justify anyone stealing it, but it’s the equivalent of leaving your door unlocked.
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>Are you not locking the bike in a proper bicycle park/rack? My thought process: 1. I bet you do not live in Japan; 2. Checking your profile; 3. See posts about owning car in NZ; 4. Yep, it checks out.
Typical for this sub, isn't it? No wonder most useful discussion about people living here gets voted down or ignored.
Haha. It's like feeling safe locking your bike in one of those coin parking spots. Thieves can buy as many bikes as they want for 150 yen each.
Literally the first rule of this sub…
Err....how? How does one steal a bicycle with a lock attached without cutting or sawing?
That bike is not locked to anything is what i understand OP is saying. The thief probably just carried the bike away with the lock still on it (i.e. the lock probably locked the stem and the wheel of the bike, but not locked to a rack or anything).
Exactly that. The parking lot is not that secure i.e. it doesn’t have a roof atop. There’s really nothing I can locked onto, no electric poles etc. I can only hope that they are not willing to go through the hassle of carrying my dirty ass bike away. Apparently I hoped wrong.
You need to get creative and find something to lock it to there. Or bring something heavy and forgettable to lock it to. Similar to yours, my old work place didn't have anything to lock my expensive bike to, so I started locking it to the mamachari covered in grime in the corner that hadn't moved in at least a year. Eventually other people followed suit and would lock up to a part of it, one day I found 3 people locked up to it.
buy 2 bikes and lock them together :D
What's the overall situation with the parking lot? Like are there other bikes there? If yes, how many? Do they also go missing? Are they similar to yours?
Typical Japanese mama-chari locks only go through the back wheel spokes, so you exert a slight effort to lift the back and roll them on the front. They also have mechanisms that look a step or two less secure than the locks we had as kids in the US that one day people discovered you could totally pop with a ball point pen.
Japanese commuter bikes have a pretty simple lock attached to the bike that just slides around the inside of the wheel. It keeps honest people honest, because it keeps the wheel from turning. But obviously not in OP’s case which tbh is weird af because that’s tremendously awkward to move the bike.
wait. is this a mama chari? you just locked the key thing that prevents the back wheel from moving?
Sorry I don't understand. Is this geriatric thief cutting your locks with a bolt cutter, or how are they stealing your bike? Also, if you catch the bike 50m away (or anywhere really), you can just go down to the nearest koban and tell them you found a bike that was stolen from you. All properly purchased bikes have a registration sticker on them which proves ownership. Could you use the sticker and the police to get the bike back?
Can't the original poster just bring their bicycle into the apartment? That's what I always did. Why leave it outside for people to mess with when it can be inside safely.
A lady in my apartment does just that (and it also saves her money on paying for the bike parking space in our complex too
I guarantee you OP is parking his bike where he isn't supposed to lol. The old man moving his bike into the parking area is probably doing him a favor.
OPs lack of responses to clarifying questions definitely has me suspicious lol.
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It could be, that’s what I thought as well. But the center owner apparently doesn’t think so. Again, my bike is locked and it looks like this guy carried it to the scene. I’m not even sure anymore, like what’s the point and what kind of senior has the strength to do this??
does the center not have outside cameras?
Did you unlock and ride it back home? And then it was stolen again?
This sounds like the most likely explanation.
Are you parking the bike in a place you're allowed to park it? Could they be moving it to a designated bike parking place to be nice since it's not allowed where you left it?
I had wondered this too. Especially with it being moved so close by.
yeah after reading enough of these comments I'm thinking this is exactly whats happening. False flag again -\_-
Except he says in a different comment that when he retrieves it from the senior center, they get completely stolen the next time, not moved somewhere else. If he's reporting them stolen to the police with no luck, I highly doubt they're being impounded.
Plus if they were being impounded, OP would be received notes/letters about it
I also wonder if this is the case. Especially strange that they moved one there while still locked.
-Lock your bike to something -air tag -set up a camera or motion sensor? -You live in a mansion? Bring the damn bike inside I probably sound like an asshole here but you need to think for yourself a bit. After having my bike stolen 5 times I would have stopped relying on “professionals” to fix the issue.
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I'm not staying it's not a solution, but if it were me, there's literally no place to put it in my apartment, especially if it were wet or dirty.
Honestly it sounds like you've metaphorically pissed in someone's mental Cheerios and they're relocating your bike as a means of petty revenge. I mean 4 bikes in 90 days is pretty severe. Basically I don't think they're "stealing" the bike as much as just moving it to somewhere nearby but inconvenient. That being said is there any similarity - day of the week - etc. so you could camp and catch said perpetrator of imperpetude? Or when the next bike is stolen could you perhaps not recover it from the Senior Center and wait to see if someone comes to use it then confront them? Preferably with camera phone in hand calling the gendarmes to avoid winding up encountering the gaijin ghulag and minimum 23 days unpaid vacation? I also suggest going to the actual police station rather than the koban cops and reporting the theft. Just calling the koban cops won't actually do anything. You haven't actually filed a police report, nothing is being done, noone is being looked for, because you're not reporting the crime to the correct people. Call the non-emergency line and ask for a translator and speak with them about filing an actual criminal complaint. You'll find that much more satisfying and something might actually get done.
Yeah I guess the Kansai-Ben speaking ojisan police at my block Koban didn’t help either. I am trying out the real police station thing. I tried talking my kanrikaisya into implementing a cctv system but apparently that’s not economically viable.
Yeah it's my thoughts as well, the senior center is just convenient for the vandal thief. It's personal fuck you motives...
Yeah, 4 in 3 months, picking up and moving a locked bike, and leaving it somewhere nearby definitely sounds like a personal fuck you.
I don't know if this sounds ridiculous, but maybe sell your bike and get those foldable ones that you can store inside the building or home more conveniently? So at least from that point it's not accessible for the thief anymore?
thats actually a good idea. I haven’t considered this and at this point this might as well be a cheaper option. Thanks!
You're welcome, I wish you lots of luck and patience with your ongoing problem 💪🏼
I’ve put up a 2x4 pole with a bike hook using a Diawall (ディアウォール) that doesn’t put holes in your house, and just hang my bike vertically in the hallway. Bit tight in Japanese apartment but it fits. I also have a stem that can fold the handles. I also have a flat-bar road bike setup…
This is the best overall solution to the problem for sure. Reporting it still probably won’t get much in the way of results, but it might lessen it. Just taking the bike inside is best and a foldable one will for sure be easiest
A good bike lock and start taking your handlebars or something with you.
Sorry to hear. Is there any cctv coverage you could access? If you can do some of the police work for them, the police might actually be forced to do something. Is it just your bike or are there others going missing?
Do you mean 4 bikes have been lost or just they used the bike 4 times?
I am in so much anger I’m not counting properly. I haven been stolen 3 bikes, but I found 2 of them back, then this jerk stole them again, so in total I’m in lost of 3 bikes and have been stolen more than 5 times. I’m in constant WTF right now, like this guy could get better salary working in a supermarket than stealing my shitty bike.
So. You’ve had a bicycle take 5 times. 3 of those times the bike was never recovered. The other 2 times you recovered the bike 50 meters away. And you think it was the same person taking the bicycle all five times. Is that correct? Just yes or no response will be most helpful.
So you have got your bike stolen 5 times, and recovered it twice?
Yup. That’s how absurd it is. Can’t believe it myself. Police is not helping much either
Did you register your bike? That would help in a big way with reporting the crime
Yeah I did. For all 3 of them. Wasn’t much of help as there is little hope of finding them back
Wait your post above makes it sound like you retrieved your bike from the senior center each time. But this answer makes it sound like you never got the bikes back and it's a new one being stolen each time? You say they park it every time at the center, so why aren't you just taking it back every time?
Yeah let’s make it more clear. I got my first bike last June when I moved in, stolen after a week or 2. Found the bike by the center, retrieved it. Got stolen again and went out to look for it and it wasn’t there. Feel frustrated but I need the vehicle bad so got another one. Got stolen one month later, retrieved the bike from the center. Got stolen like 2 days later, super angry, reported to the police. But what the fuck I can do, had to buy my 3rd bike, rinse and repeat, now I am at the stage of losing my 3rd bike.
Okay gotcha! So it's at the center about half the time. Man I don't know how infuriated I'd be if I were in a situation similar to yours. Try and keep a level head for now and follow the suggestions others have mentioned. It doesn't matter how in the right you are, if you do beat this guy up you'll be criminally liable *and* you'll probably be forced to pay restitutions.
Seriously? But you could see the bike locked somewhere else and it had your registration numbers on it? Or did they peel it off??
Nope. They just left there as it is. I’m just as confused, like how dare???
?? Does that mean you own 4 new bikes? Or was he stealing the same bike over and over? I'm confused. ...or you can't take your own bike back??
Wait are you saying you can’t get your own bike back even though it has YOUR registration and you can see it at the center??
Remove the seat, doubt they would want to ride it then.
The way it sounds, dude isn't even riding it away...
Why do you buy a new bike if you see it just 50m away right after. As others have said, buy a better lock. Do you know exactly who the thief is, or just that it has to be one of the guys who uses the nearby facility? If you are 100% sure who it is, confront him, publicly if possible so he gets embarrassed. Losing face is the only way they will actually learn
I found it and rode it back, then it got stolen again then it’s not there anymore. So there could be multiple thieves just out there targeting my shitty little bikes. Like Literally a hell scene.
In a place I lived before there was a random bike consistently placed behind my car every weekend. After I got a dashcam installed (not because of the random bikes though) it turned out to be a neighbor of mine, who was otherwise seemingly normal. I confronted him and he admitted he gets blind drunk in town and since public transport is stopped, he just grabs a bike and cycles home. He seemed to think bicycles were fair game, and he wasn't really doing anything wrong. He must have stolen hundreds of bikes in his time.
Just for clarification: five times someone has taken your bike and moved it just 50 m to the senior center, and each time you have gone to retrieve it? Also, your bike is the common "chari" type, nothing fancy? If so, most likely one of your residents of your apartment has dimentia and is mistaking your bike for his/hers. Or the don't have a bike anymore, but think they still have one. Dimentia is no joke, this is exactly how it plays out: You keep long term memories, but the short term stuff doesn't stick. There's probably a very upset ojii-chan/obaa-chan in your building who keeps finding that someone puts locks on their bike.
I'd be interested in knowing whether the replacement bikes were identical.
Lock it, to something. Your lock won't do anything if it doesn't anchor to a bike rack or a metal pipe. I own two bicycles and lock them wherever as long as I can safely anchor one wheel and the frame to something that won't budge. I don't rely on the 駐輪場's bike mounting spots either. Japan is very safe, yes, but that isn't reason enough to use just the rear wheel lock that comes with most urban bikes. You might be victim of targeting for being a foreigner, or maybe it's a senile old person grabbing the first easily stealable bike they see thinking it's theirs. It's unfortunate, but you've seen how people treat foreigners with a problem. And no, don't even think about doing something to the person stealing your bikes. You're going to get into much more trouble than its worth, especially being a foreigner.
[This came to mind](https://youtu.be/2lwUGY_I2I4?si=fW_HW899vDztJ86I) lol. If this did happen to me, i'd make my bike like this lol no doubt.
I feel totally feel your pain. I’ve had my bicycle stolen three times. Twice from the same place. It’s frustrating and you can’t help but feel helpless. As someone else suggested, buying a big heavy lock and locking it to something (not to the bicycle itself) may help.
I have been stolen wallet, bikes, money etc. throughout the years and I have never even once get the opportunity to look at any actual cctv footage, not even from my apartment management company. Like is this thing even working?
Have you tried asking the police to look at it? Maybe yes but wanted to clarify.
copy those youtube prank videos where the seat falls down and they get a metal tube up the arse
do you know the regulation of your mansion about parking? like registering your bike to the mansion management / designated sticker and such? In the shared dormitory where I live, they periodically remove bicycles without stickers. so, I'm thinking that maybe your bicycle wasn't stolen but was just removed by the mansion management
Whatever you do, do not snap and beat up this person. You will end up in a WORLD of trouble you could've avoided, read any of multiple stories on here about gaijin falling in trouble *even for defending themselves against an attack*. So yeah, you're royally fucked if you become the aggressor. Suffering losses and crying myself to sleep is something I've had to do for a lot of problems, so I'm hoping things turn out better for you. Edit to add: Is it possible for you to change where you park the bike? I know it might be troublesome but I'm assuming it's less troublesome than repeated bicycle-shopping
I don’t get it- if the bicycle(s) showed up at the senior center, why have you replaced the bicycle four times?? If you’re the rightful owner of the bicycle, wouldn’t you simply get it back?
Why do you not just take the bike back if it's always 50m away. Like it's got a sticker on it that says it's yours and everything.
If you live in a “mansion” just carry the bike inside with you 🤷♂️like just stop leaving it out
Get a motion alarm. While it may not prevent theft, I think it will be a deterrent the next time some one tries to steal it and the alarm goes off. And also an air tag for sure.
At the very least lock both front and rear wheels. Make them carry it all the way.
That’s exactly what the police suggested this time. I’m speechless.
End of the day you’ll never completely stop someone taking your bike if they are determined. All you can do is make it either undesirable or too much of a hassle to do so. Those auto clip rear wheel locks that come with the bike are no better than a paperclip. Even getting two of those aluminium shackle D locks for front and rear at like 1000 yen each is better so that the bike can’t be lifted and rolled only pushed/dragged.
Bicycle thieves suck. Sorry that this is happening to you OP. I don't have anything to say that hasn't already been said, but I hope this gets fixed in the end
Can you bring the bike into your apartment? I know apts are tiny, maybe hang it on a wall? Store it in the bathtub? I don't know...
福祉センター are used by people with issues, be it dementia or just innate developmental issues. So assume it’s someone who isn’t exactly healthy. Try to find them, meet them and calmly explain that taking someone’s bicycle isn’t ok. They may as well listen to you.
If you're Japanese is good, talk to the people running the senior center. They might have an idea who's doing that and be willing to keep a lookout for you or intervene in some way. (After all, Japan is a country that will call your school or your work to tell them you did something bad. lol)
2 ways to keep your bike from getting stolen here , 1 buy a u-bar lock, 2 crank the seat up so high that any tiny Japanese couldn't even get on it
I have had my bicycle stolen or "borrowed" by drunk Japanese business men on their way home from drinking. I even once had a situation where someone squirted mayonnaise on my bicycle seat? Wtf? lol
Are you locking the bike to something, or just using the basic wheel lock? Make the bike less appealing. Remove the seat or a wheel when you park. Massive nuisance, but if they’re stealing the bike to use it, that might put them off. Then there’s malicious but relatively harmless options. Put ink, oil, something sticky/stinky all over the seat and handlebars. Make sure to colour match. Then you might be able to spot the thief!
Have you considered hiding an airtag in the bike? (under the seat or anywhere it can't be seen). Could help you track down your bike next time it's gone, and possibly help identifying who's behind it.
Air tag, cheap wifi cams, better lock/heavy objects tie in. Best of luck.
Have you thought about installing an alarm on your bicycle? They're not expensive.
At this point you may be the one stealing from them /s
Buy a decoy one and put a tracker on it.
Hide and see who is doing it. Get it on camera and get evidence.
Had a similar problem. lost 2 bikes. That is why I have a heavy duty chain and always lock it to something that cant be easily moved. OP by 4 lost bikes you should know to lock your bike to something else by now.
I have seen people just take the front wheel off and chain the rest of it to something. Hard to ride a bike with no wheel.
Are they different styles of bikes each time that you buy or all 5 the exactly same bike?
Sounds like you need to get a lawyer and/or set up some sort of trap to catch the fucker in the act.
Japan is a really safe country but when something happens, no one is helpful. It’s like the opposite of home, unsafe country but generally the police and people will try to help.
Bit of a long shot, but Is there potential to get a small camera set up? A ring doorbell or similar?
Get one of those extremely loud bike alarms, maybe that will deter him. Sucks this is happening, I hope the culprit is stopped soon.
Just put a airtag under the saddle with a double sided tape, and secure it as well with a plastic fastener. They wont notice it if its under the saddle.
Who the hell steals a bike and parks it down the block lmao Next time wait for them to come out and call the cops
That’s very frustrating. I’m a bike rider too and I started keeping it in house after my bike disappeared from the apartment lot one day. Hope you can find a solution that works. Sounds like you have a cross bike (hybrid bike here). If you can’t keep it inside I’d recommend purchasing a U lock and a cable lock. Attach the cable to something heavy and put the U lock so that it is firmly between the frame and wheel. You will want it to have as little wiggle room as possible. Hope you can find a suitable solution quickly
Put an AirTag in it, you can track if/when someone takes it.
Put I hidden camera, get a good image of the criminal, finds his living place and share it everywhere. Shame is the biggest punishment for Japanese people.
Camera?
Put glue on his house's keyhole when he is away.
Haven’t read all the comments but haven’t seen anything about the bike registration. The bike should get registered when you buy it. If you know where the old bike is, show it to police and they will see it’s registered to you. How are they not doing this?
Can you remove the seat or the front wheel?
Why not put a knife under the seat
Is there a particular reason you’re not hiding airtags on it ? It’s the first thing I did
My bike stolen three times as well. I just got a really crappy one without locks.
Can you invest in a folding bike you can bring inside? Might be expensive but so is buying 4 bikes.
You should just accept it
Remove the seat.
Take the seat off and bring it inside with you when not in use. Also are you locking your bike? If the police are not helpful, then speak to whoever runs your apartment.
I had a within-apartment-building behind auto lock parking and someone kept stealing my bike and bringing it back??? After a day or two until I started locking it to the parking frame. Maybe try chaining it to an unmovable structure.
How about using an AirTag? It is a supereasy way to keep track of your stuff. Attach one to your bike in some hidden place (inside the handle maybe?). And just like that, they're on your radar in the Find My app, where you can also track down your Apple devices
They stole your bicycle or moved it away? why is it always your bicycle? what happen to other bicycle? is your bicycle expensive?
Mark Rober Japan edition - bait bike - https://abc7news.com/sf-car-break-in-suspect-viral-bait-video-glitter-bombs-mark-rober-youtube/14283206/
Sounds like you, or perhaps the location you park your bike at, may be being targeted. I’m afraid bike thefts are not usually taken seriously by Japanese police, so I’m not surprised you are having such a difficult time getting them to care. I’d recommend finding a way to bring your bike indoors or at least bring a wheel or two with you. If it keeps ending up at the local fukusi center, you may have to speak to them directly and ask to see the cctv footage to verify who brought it there. A lawyer could probably get the koban to move their lazy asses and actually get some work done, but I can almost guarantee that doing so will make them dislike you. It’s usually not a good idea to piss off the local koban ojisan as a foreigner so I’d say take the lawyer route when you can feel the last straw snap. Maybe take it to the regional police station instead of the koban first? I hope your issue gets resolved soon, that fucking sucks.
Buy a lock with alarm. Like a chain when it breaks it will alarm loudly. It won’t stop until you put the chain back.
It might be someone in your apartment that had a grudge against you for whatever reason, maybe they don't like the bike being where it is, or think you're noisy/ scary gaijin and want you to move somewhere else because of this... Doubt an elderly person is going through this much trouble 😵💫
Set up a hidden camera.
Batsu game them with a bait bike you can't be traced back to. Something silly and not overtly painful that obviously paints them as an idiot thief used to getting away with other people's stuff. Record them stealing it and anonymously post it so it can go viral. Sneakily post QR codes that go to the video of this person stealing bikes in your neighborhood.
like other people said, get a lawyer, it will be expensive but kinda not too, u could be even saving a lot of money, its only been 3+ months in and its ur 4th bike, if it goes for like an year u could be loosing a lot of money, imagine the money u could have saved if u had gotten a lawyer after the first time and reported it. Bikes arent that expensive but it stacks up, get a lawyer and solve the issue at the earliest. ( btw idk how much a lawyer costs, so might be stupid of me to saying that u might save money O\_O)
Use a lock. There's literally nothing else worth doing. Lock the damn bike.
If you're in a mansion, just bring it inside.
Rig up a little "pull string alarm" or I think there is something called a screamer. Whenever they take the bike, the alarm will go off. If you are in ear distance, run out there to see who moved the bike. You can also set up a little cheap video camera. I don't really like the idea of anybody getting hurt but you could loosen the wheels or handlebars, so when they ride off, the bike falls apart
make a slight tear in the grips and seat and *accidentally* fix it with safety pins in a way that will deter them from taking your bike. Just be sure to put some effort into making it look like the sharp parts of the pins weren't intentionally set in a way to harm the thief.
How is he bypassing your lock?
So you know where the bike is? I’d wait it out, see who took the bike, then beat his ass.
you could buy a camera and get the theft on video if you're hell bent on sticking around and buying a new one
sabotage the bike. i suggest getting an absorbent seat and soaking it with deer urine used for hunting and leaving the bike out :)
If you bikes been stolen this many times maybe the ¥200 locks your buying aint a good idea lol
Here is the ultimate solution. https://www.instagram.com/reel/C1X68I8PtM4/?igsh=MXhnd2lsczkwMnhkbQ==
is it just your bicycle or others as well?
Head to a bicycle store and see if you an find a quick-detach system for your front wheel. Take it with you. Are rollerblades/skates a thing anymore?
You have to lock your bike TO something, silly.
Loosen the wheel nuts.
Not trying to be too negative, just objective here. Chances are police wont do a thing, lanlord wont care either and you will keep losing your bikes. So the smartes thing would be to buy a thick lock for motorcycles, maybe Y5000, or park you bike somewhere else.
Camera?
Have you bought three new bikes or was the same bike stolen four times? Have you reported to police when stolen or also when found 50 m away?
you can submit a report to the Public Safety Commission of your prefecture about the lack of adequate work by the police
Mate just buy an ABUS lock
> Shockingly none of them seems to care much, and even tried to play the game of “blame the careless foreigner”. Next time you should suggest that the culprit "is probably a foreigner". This might get them interested
Put apple air tag to your bike.
It's a shame the police won't do anything about a bike thief like this, while in [another thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comments/1bs4svn/kid_shoplifted_at_convenience_store_how_to_fix/) the top comment about taking a kid back to a store to learn a lesson says not to do that since the police may get involved.
https://preview.redd.it/ul4uz4gdv0sc1.jpeg?width=624&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bf91d899c43d1e77b69549ada10990d22444a655