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| パパ大すき！！You Love Bicycle |
It is impossible to keep every letter, picture or piece of craft my daughters present me with as they do it on an almost daily basis. But I do have a special folder for the most treasured items I've received over the years.
This piece, scribbled in just moments on the back of a piece of advertising we picked up in Shibuya, will be going into that folder to be kept forever. Its the best present I've received in ages, and not a bad likeness I might add.
That is way too cute. I really looking forward to getting those once my little Koguma-chan gets to that age.
ReplyDeleteI have folder of artwork too that my children have made of the years. They are the best gifts a parent can receive.
ReplyDeleteHello, I'm sorry for posting this here, but I have a question about bicycling in Tokyo I can't find an answer to. You mentioned in one post that when you buy a bike from a store, you pay for the registration there. But what if your bike is a hand-me-down from a long line of foreigners who live at a sharehouse? Is there a way to get a registration? Or what if you brought your own bike from abroad? I was told by Japanese friends that police will stop you if there is no registration sticker, and they will automatically assume you stole the bike. I've heard stories of people being arrested this way. If you try to get a new registration at a bike store, they will also assume you stole the bike and notify police. My friends told me the only way was to buy a new bike... but that seems ridiculous. The only information I could find about the stickers was here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.city.tokyo-nakano.lg.jp/dept/153000/d010044.html
Do you have any information on this?
Yes,yes. I have fortunately been given such letters from my daughter too. I appreciate them too. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteHanna,
ReplyDeleteI agree that bicycle registration rules here in Japan really restrict the trading of second hand bicycles particularly when you have no formal proof of ownership.
If you're bringing a bicycle from overseas bring along some pictures of you on the bike in a location that is obviously not Japan to back up your claim that the bicycle is yours. If the pictures are dated, then even better, but I suspect that if you go to the Koban end explain the situation you'll have no trouble registering the bicycle.
Hand-me-down bicycles are a more difficult. If you can't prove ownership of the bicycle then it can not be registered. If the bike was previously registered in the name of a foreigner and you're 100% sure its not stolen then you could risk cycling it around. If stopped explain your case, or plead ignorance of the law. If the bicycle isn't an obviously "made in and for Japan" model you could take it to the Koban and try and convince them you bought it with you.
In short registering a bicycle you bring from overseas is easy. But registering a bicycle that you can't prove you own then you're going to have to play in some grey areas of the law.
I can't believe I'm handing out advice on how to break the law on a public forum.
Thank you for your advice! My goal is not to break the law, don't worry. :) I probably just won't ride the hand me down bicycle because I don't know who originally owned it. I hate to be in a grey area if the laws really are strict about this.
ReplyDelete