In my previous post, I mentioned that my destination for taking photos was the embankment on the Kawasaki side of the Tama River estuary. It was quite a distance from the nearest train station, and walking there in the heat would be pretty tough. The day before, as I was mulling over whether I’d have to use my car—even though I don’t really like driving—it suddenly occurred to me.
You know that thing I’ve been seeing more and more around my neighborhood lately—I wonder if it’s available in Kawasaki?
So I searched online and immediately found this:
That’s right, bike-sharing. This “Hello Cycling” seems to be a “bike-sharing platform” service that bundles bike-sharing systems from various regions, allowing users to access them anywhere via a single smartphone app.
As for my destination this time, there are several bike-sharing pickup and drop-off points near Kojima-Shinden Station on the Keikyu Daishi Line, and with dozens of bikes available, it looked like it would work perfectly. This is it!
So, first I got off at Kojima-Shinden Station,
Following the map shown in the dedicated app, it’s a 3-minute walk to the station—this is the spot.
You choose the bike you want to ride from the many lined up. It seems they aren’t always in perfect condition—some of the bikes had flat tires—so it’s best to check them carefully before riding.
Since it was my first time, I had to start by registering as a member through the app, but by linking it to my PayPay account, I was able to complete registration with just a single tap. After confirming the bike’s number using the identification tag attached to it, I made a reservation via the app, unlocked the bike, and started riding. (When I set off, I was asked to pay a 2,500-yen deposit via PayPay. They’re very thorough.)
This bike lock lets you manually lock it securely whenever you need to park temporarily during your ride, and you can easily unlock it as many times as you want through the app (I actually used it).
Looking dashing on the Tama River embankment (lol).
I used the service for about 55 minutes that day, and the fee was 480 yen. After getting my deposit refunded, I paid via PayPay. Since I’m not very tech-savvy and didn’t run into any problems on my first try, I’m sure most people will be fine.
According to the Hello Cycling app, there are rental and return stations quite densely distributed throughout the Tokyo metropolitan area, so it looks like it’ll be a great ally for my future photo walks. At least my first experience with the service left a good impression.
