00:00:00 John Daub: This video, caught by a live camera, scares me quite a lot. You see on the top left a motorized kickboard scooter—not stopping at a red light. He saw the pedestrians going and thought he was a pedestrian as well, just crossing the street, boom. That really is not a nice thing that happens here. I feel really bad for that person, but I also feel bad for the driver. Not their fault. How do you see that?

00:00:27 John Daub: A lot of the motorized scooter riders don't even wear helmets. This is another problem. It's required, but not mandatory. I'll talk about why maybe you should wear a helmet even when you're riding a bicycle here, but what happened with this accident is highly preventable. It's also creating a lot of chaos on the roads and streets.

00:01:00 John Daub: In Tokyo, just yesterday I was on patrol. You can see I have my hat on here. In a live stream from yesterday in Ginza, I just saw these guys. You're not allowed to ride bicycles through here, let alone motorized kickboard scooters. A lot of you might say, oh, what's the big deal? Well, in Japan, if you just break any of the rules a little bit, you get in trouble. In any case, it is kind of dangerous to be riding where the pedestrians are.

00:01:30 John Daub: These are foreign tourists riding the Luup scooters. Apparently, you should understand the rules. After I looked at the Luup website, this is not something you should do. You can't ride on the sidewalks. You have to ride on the roads. You can ride on the sidewalks only when you cannot ride on the roads, but it's all really not clear. Hopefully in this episode, I can clear it up because I don't want to be in trouble.

00:02:00 John Daub: I just happen to have right here "How to Ride a Bicycle the Right Way" from the local police department, and we're going to go over this in this live stream. By the end, you'll have a very good idea of how to ride these electric motorized kickboard scooters—dendo kikibōdo (electric kickboards) in Japanese. They're basically the same laws as for bicycles, but a lot of you don't know what a hook turn is. We'll talk about hook turns as well. You can't turn with the motorcycles. You have to turn like bicycles would—see the red one? You actually have to cross the street and then cross the street. 50cc mopeds also have to do it. If you have 125cc motorbikes, you need a driver's license. You need one for 50cc mopeds as well, I believe. But you have to turn like pedestrians.

00:03:03 John Daub: You probably should get off, but a lot of the scooters will get off it. Motorized kickboard scooters have to do hook turns, and this is one of the reasons why the police will stop you. Check this out—look at this one. There are a lot of Japanese patrolling or looking at go-to places. He's obviously abandoning the law there. Police are on patrol. This is a well-known intersection where traffic crimes happen a lot and they go after them. I've seen it a lot too. If you just walk around Tokyo, you will see stealth police officers all over the place. There's a place in Ginza—there's always a motorcycle cop there waiting to catch people breaking the law, mostly in cars, but now motorized kickboard scooters.

00:04:07 John Daub: Between July 2023 and July 2024, one year, Japanese authorities addressed 25,000 traffic violations involving electric kickboard scooters, which is just crazy. Of these, 218 were accidents nationwide, resulting in 225 injuries—meaning it was more than just the kickboard rider who got injured, somebody in a car or bicycle or pedestrian. A striking statistic: 17.2% of scooter accidents in the same period involved riders under the influence of alcohol. People are riding these while drinking, thinking it's not like a car, so it's okay. But I'll show you in the metropolitan Tokyo area, metropolitan police rules on bicycle riding—why even riding a bicycle under the influence will get you into jail. Helmet use is very rare among injured e-scooter riders—only 4.2% were wearing helmets. That's a pretty crazy statistic.

00:05:40 John Daub: It's not just foreign tourists—I'm not blaming them only. A lot of these traffic violations were locals. The issue with foreign tourists is you don't know the traffic patterns of Japan—they're different. If you're coming from North America, you're driving on the other side of the street, so your thinking might be a little bit different. You have to really consider the safest way and the traffic laws because it's up to you and your responsibility to follow the law when you come here, even as a tourist. You think you're driving on e-scooters or motorized kickboard scooters and you don't know the traffic laws and think it's just a toy. It is a convenient way to get around, but it's not a toy. People are getting injured, and tourists in particular are not following the rules.

00:06:10 John Daub: This is what I've learned after living here for so darn long. If you are a foreign resident, you are under the microscope—you're no different than a Japanese citizen. People will report you, and they see it more and blame all foreigners. If tourists do it, foreign residents get in trouble. Foreign residents have to be the best residents. Even my neighbors are watching me with recycling the garbage, so I have to be perfect. That impresses them, and your neighbors learn to trust you over time and give you a little leeway if you make a mistake because you've been pretty good up to a point. But if you move in and you're an awful neighbor or community member, your community lets you know that.

00:07:12 John Daub: Like a lot of you, you'll see these signs—see that one? It looks like the kanji for hook turn. Motorized motorcycles can turn normally, but pedestrians look for the sign—this means you must do a hook turn. After this guide, you will be masters of riding a bicycle in Japan because I didn't even know a lot of these. This is a PDF—I'll put a link in the description. Of course, they have really cute characters. The police officers here mean business. The five rules for safety: cycle on the road and keep left. If you're on the left, that means don't cycle where the pedestrians are.

00:08:17 John Daub: If you have to use the sidewalk—and the police actually use the sidewalk, I was surprised. You'll see patrol bicycles on the sidewalk with pedestrians. I always wanted to stop and ask them, shouldn't you be on the road? Because technically they should be. Stop at a red signal or stop sign at an intersection. Whenever possible, be on the road with the cars. There's a blue arrow now that you can follow. Cars still park and block your way—it's like this all over the world. Turn on the lights at night. Don't just turn like a pedestrian—you're going faster, it's easier to get hit. Don't drink and ride, and wear a helmet. Number five is required but not mandatory—I don't know what that means.

00:09:22 John Daub: The fact that JAL had a pilot that broke the law with alcohol in his body—JAL is under a lot of heat right now, pilots under the influence, not their first time either. Five rules for safe cycling: cycle on the road and keep left—opposite to the United States, which is keep right. Cyclists should ride on the road but may use the sidewalk in exceptional cases: specified motorized bicycles, standard bicycles, and pedestrians only. There are signs that'll let you know when you can use the sidewalk. In this case, the rider—and I don't know why, but the police don't follow this law. I see them on the sidewalk with pedestrians all the time. You should be on the side of the road—see in the middle there, there's a cat. They'll guide you when there's construction to go onto the sidewalk from time to time.

00:10:29 John Daub: If you are a physically disabled person, but abled people should be with the cars on the side of the road. Another reason to wear a helmet. Keep to the left—this is so important in Japan. Don't go against the grain of traffic. Ride as near to the left curb or edge of the road as possible, not in the middle. The great thing about what the police put in here is the fines: 50,000 yen or about $300 if you must ride on the bicycle lane, if any, unless there's a man-at-work sign. If you don't, 20,000 yen or about $150. If you have to use the sidewalk, pedestrians have the right of way. When you use the sidewalk, stay close to the road as possible. Stop if your presence would impede traffic, or 20,000 yen fine. I wonder if the police—like, again, they're riding on the sidewalk all the time.

00:11:30 John Daub: Pedestrians have the right of way. If you want to go faster and there are pedestrians behind you, you can ring the bell, but they have the right of way. You do not have the right to speed through and ring your bell to pass people walking—they can walk as slow as they want in the pedestrian area. If you break the rules, those patrol cars will nab you. Stop at a red signal or stop sign at an intersection—that's a no-brainer, but people do this, they'll zip by. Especially in Tokyo suburban areas, these alleys are narrow and cars sometimes fly through there. Make sure you stop and look both ways—fines of 50,000 yen or about $350.

00:12:00 John Daub: Turn on the lights at night—it's common sense. I just follow the green signals for walking when riding on the road. Cyclists should make a reasonable effort to wear a helmet—reasonable effort, I don't know what that means. Guess just wear a helmet, and if you can't, then it's okay. When carrying a child on a bicycle, the cyclist should make a reasonable effort to make sure the child wears a helmet—there's no fine. Parents and guardians should make reasonable efforts to make sure their child is wearing a helmet when riding a bicycle. Maybe about two times in the history that I've had Leo, and he's four and a half now, he didn't wear a helmet because we forgot and had to get home—just a couple hundred meters, and I was always nervous to encounter a police officer. But now I understand "reasonable effort." I'm still always going to make sure my son has a helmet, and I'm going to try to get one as well because I don't often wear a helmet.

00:13:27 John Daub: Don't enter a railroad crossing—no brainer. Don't use a cell phone when riding—I've seen locals do this all the time. They don't realize there's a 100,000 yen fine or about $700 if you get caught riding with a mobile phone in your hand. The police are looking for this actively, and I have heard of people getting fined. Don't use your earphones when riding—earbuds, AirPods, whatever. Get them out of your ears—you can't be listening to music. It is a 50,000 yen or $350 fine if the police nab you for that.

00:14:20 John Daub: Don't ride with an umbrella up—you must not hold an umbrella while riding. It narrows your vision, so when it's raining, you cannot. They used to be able to do this 15 years ago—you can't anymore, or they will fine you. I've seen police fining people in the rain, and it stinks because you have to stand there while they write you a ticket. Sometimes they let you off with a warning if you just didn't know, but that was years ago. This one using earphones, I had no idea—I thought you could use transparency mode. With umbrellas, I kind of still sometimes did that, but now I have raincoats and rainpants—that's the way to go if you're going to ride a bicycle.

00:15:11 John Daub: Don't ride a bicycle without proper working brakes—there's a 50,000 yen or $350 fine if they test your bike and you don't have brakes or they're not maintained. There's a 20,000 yen or $150 fine if you ride side by side—you can't go two abreast. Obey the rules when riding with children—permitted using a standard bicycle. You must be over 16 to have a child on the back seat, and you can have two infants riding. I've seen these bicycles, but that always scares me a little bit. A lot of moms do this, and a lot don't wear helmets either, which is concerning.

00:16:02 John Daub: How to turn right at intersections: keep as near to the left curb or edge of the road as possible, ride straight ahead into the other side of the intersection, and then turn at reduced speed—this is called the hook turn. When turning right at a signal-controlled intersection, you must enter at a green light while riding straight ahead to the other side and then stop. You cannot turn on the right signal because it's opposite to the U.S., which is left turn. Stay stopped, change directions to the right, wait for a green light. It's going to take you more time than a car, but it's safer and the only legal way. You have to do a hook turn—this is for bicycles, 50cc motorcycles, and pedestrians.

00:16:54 John Daub: Using bicycle crossing lanes: when crossing a road, you must use a bicycle crossing lane. There are special lanes for bicycles and special lanes for pedestrians—you cannot ride where the pedestrians are crossing, the zebra crossings. Almost every single crossing in Tokyo has a bicycle crossing lane. I sometimes ride in the zebras if nobody's there, like in the evening, and you can probably get away with it—there's no fine, they'll just yell at you. Using pedestrian crosswalks with no bicycle crossing lanes installed: crosswalks are for pedestrian use. You can ride and cross there unless impeding the flow—it's a good idea to get off and walk your bicycle. When riding on a sidewalk and you encounter congestion, get off and walk—it's not worth hitting a pedestrian. If you hit a pedestrian on a rental bicycle—even if they're running or reading a smartphone—you're always at fault. All pedestrians, even if breaking the law, have the right of way. You do not as a cyclist on the sidewalk. If you hit somebody, you're the one getting sued and needing insurance—and yeah, there is bicycle insurance.

00:18:43 John Daub: Obey traffic lights—just remember if you're riding with the traffic, you can go on a green light. If the light is red for pedestrians, you can still go on a green light—in case the sign says cyclists and pedestrians only. It's still kind of confusing. If the pedestrian crossing light turns red but the car light is still green, I often look at the traffic lights not the pedestrian walking lights because I'm on the road with the cars. Sometimes the lights say exactly what the purpose is—just be careful, no actual fines, but look out for it. Bicycle navigation marks—we're seeing the blue one with arrows all over Tokyo. These mean bicycles have the right of way in this lane—cars are not supposed to park there, but they do. I wish the police would crack down on cars.

00:20:10 John Daub: The biggest thing is the hook turn. I'm talking about this because there's a lot more bicycle rentals and a lot more motorized kickboard scooters. I'm not against them—I think it's a great idea, people can get around quicker. Maybe not in Tokyo, it's too congested and crowded. In this area you can't even stay where the bicycle would be—parked cars all over. You're supposed to go around them, but it's really hard to know and easy to get into an accident. A lot of these cars are parked illegally, and police will come and push them along or get on the radio and embarrass them. Here there's actually a lane for pedestrians and a lane for bicycles—this is pedestrians, this is bicycles. Locals know this. There's a walkway for bicycle riders.

00:21:34 John Daub: What I learned in my five trips to Japan when I want to ride bicycles—I don't, way too confusing sometimes unless the place is not well connected with public transportation. I know the roads around Tokyo really well because I ride them every day—I have a bicycle, especially during the pandemic, I didn't take public transportation. It's like an hour ride to Shibuya, 30 minutes on the subway. Sometimes riding is just a little more time, good to do, but if you don't know the traffic patterns, not a good idea. The best thing for visitors: before you rent a motorized kickboard scooter or e-bike, maybe take a tour.

00:22:19 John Daub: This is a place not far from my neighborhood—they just put them on the side. There are 15,000 locations for Luup now in Tokyo only. They're all over with e-bike rentals and motorized kickboard scooters—they have a license plate, place for your mobile phone. You're not allowed to hold it in your hand. Familiarize yourself with local Japanese scooter rules before you do anything—I'll put a link to that PDF. Plan your route carefully the first few times. You cannot hold your phone with Google Maps—you have to put it in a clip or stop and look, or put it in your pocket and have audio prompts. Now take a left in 300 meters—that's what I do. Make sure you take a look at this the night before you get the rental bicycle and have a good idea of the directions.

00:24:18 John Daub: Keep an eye on speed—do not go full throttle, particularly if unfamiliar. In a pedestrian area like Ginza, 6 km/h is the max. Return the scooter to an official drop-off port—do not illegally park. Trust me, illegal parking of motorized vehicles gets tickets—bicycles too, you get a yellow slip. That's how they keep the streets clean. Consider doing it for short hops, not full sightseeing legs—30 minutes here, 30 there. You can hop on and off with Luup. But the best advice: if you're unsure and nervous, try a guided scooter tour or private rental first, especially if not familiar with Tokyo's traffic. This is why go-karts might be good—they're guided, just follow the leader. Then you get comfortable. The guides will give you a rundown on critical rules.

00:25:54 John Daub: It's scary stuff at first, but since the rules changed in 2023—no license needed for electric scooters, now same as bicycles. She should be wearing a helmet—nobody wears them with these yet because it's not mandatory but "required"—I still don't know what that means. Maximum control speed of 6 km/h on sidewalks—you're supposed to be on the roads whenever possible. All the accidents started going up really quite a bit. E-scooter traffic offenses surged after Japan relaxed rules—25,000 violations in that one year, and it's still going up. People are getting pulled over.

00:27:19 John Daub: Here's the scariest: June 2nd at an intersection in Tokyo's Shinjuku (?), a woman on a speeding electric kickboard entered ignoring a red light, was injured—the first instance of a prosecutor referring a dangerous rider to authorities under the new regulation, so she went to court. This is from TV—a scooter on the highway, reported to be a tourist that got lost, entered a ramp. Usually they catch you fast, but on the Shutoko (Tokyo Expressway), cars go 80 km/h in a narrow place, no shoulder—this guy's in the middle, probably drunk. These are not toys.

00:28:52 John Daub: This one was captured by a dash cam—a truck driver getting ready to make a left, and there's an e-bike on the expressway. People are confused—bicycles not allowed, but e-bikes are motorized, so okay? Check this from local news—people going 130 km/h, no helmet, blacked out to protect identity. That's scary—probably a local. Plan your trip, make sure you know what you're doing. To rent a Luup you need valid ID, show your passport, register in advance, download the app. Please do it—even print out "How to Ride a Bicycle the Right Way" because you have to adhere, and motorized kickboards are under the microscope more than bicycles right now because of the accidents. You really need to be careful and not be this guy laying in the middle of the road. Are there any questions before we end this live stream? If I could save one life, this stream is worth it.