Renting/buying bicycle in Osaka?

[Chipi]

I know that there are several places to rent a bike in Kyoto , the bike-city in a way, but how about Osaka?

I asked this from the owner of the appartment where I'll be most likely staying, but he said he thinks there aren't any.. Is this really the truth, or does someone know a place? And how much would it cost?
(to rent or to buy an old bike)
Is Osaka a "bike friendly" city anyways, is it ok to go from place to place by bike?

In Finland we can take bicycle to the subway without any extra costs, but can you transport your bicycle by train/subway in Japan, for example from Osaka to Kyoto, to Nara etc?

 

[Windy]

There are a couple of places in Sakai city, south of Osaka. None in downtown that I know of but you can borrow mine if you're in the neighborhood.

To buy one, you can find them starting from 5000 yen.

Only collapsable bikes can be brought on the trains, apparently.

 

[Chipi]

Windy-San, thanks for the reply!

Would you happen to remember any names of the bike places in Sakai..?
I could try to check those out.
I will be staying in Osaka from Aug.6th until September 19th, near Nipponbashi. (But I will go to Jótó-Ku daily, to Kyuoiku some times per week etc..) I might be interested even in renting your bike, if it possible..
It might be fun to meet another forum member anyways...!

 

[Windy]

oh, you mean long term rental. The places I mentioned are hourly, for sightseeing.

I think you'll need to buy a bike. Check Conan or Home's, they sometimes have specials from 4000 yen or so.

 

[ArmandV]

Touring around Japan on bicycle sounds like a fun idea. I might just do it the next time I go, even though I would be hanging out mainly in Tokyo and Nagoya. Just how much are collapsible bikes? How difficult is it to bring them home to the U.S.?

 

[Harvey]

You know, I have a high quality mountain bike in Osaka, that I need to sell actually because I will be moving fairly soon. PM me if interested!