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Tom....no this is for cyclist and runners.... Like Bike Run. = http://www.bike-run.jp/about.html#shop

I was going to use one similar in Tokyo if my old company had tried to stop me as riding from Tsurugamine to Akasaka Mitsuke was actually quicker than catching the train!

Fortunately 2 of the partners were avid cyclists.

My new company is not so friendly!
 
Thank you James and Niz for this information...will consider. The concept is very good but the fees are a bit steep :( ! With the tsukinisuto bicycle-commuter population rapidly increasing, it will be interesting to see more players enter into this market. I can already see multistory car park operators converting their facilities to this concept...makes a lot of sense I believe !

Tom....no this is for cyclist and runners.... Like Bike Run. = http://www.bike-run.jp/about.html#shop

I was going to use one similar in Tokyo if my old company had tried to stop me as riding from Tsurugamine to Akasaka Mitsuke was actually quicker than catching the train!

Fortunately 2 of the partners were avid cyclists.

My new company is not so friendly!
 
This is Japan - you are pushing a rope. Find the small thing that makes it acceptable and stick with that. Remember they have over 90% conviction rate and you are already considered illegal. Personally I'd just go back and say -

<Bowing to at least 90 degrees>
Oh - thank you dear leader for showing me how wrong I was to think I could move against our honorable company policy. <Bow again>

I beg you to provide me a commuting pass so that I can take the amazing Japanese Public Transportation which so efficiently and safely transports my dear brother workers.
<Bow Again>

Please accept this application for the official commuter pass to: (Station which is closest to your office) <Bowing Again>

You'll never hear another peep from them again.

I was under the impression that employers were required by law to provide commuting passes for employees.

I know a teacher who commutes two hours by car on the expressway (each way) and I figure they must be paying his commuting pass (which must be worth as much as a good chunk of his salary...).
 
I was under the impression that employers were required by law to provide commuting passes for employees.
Definitely not by law. It's a custom.

If they didn't do it this way, employers would have to increase salaries in order for far-away employees to be able to afford to come to work, or they would have a limited field of applicants. Increased salaries, as opposed to 'allowances', would attract increased health insurance contributions, pensions, etc. Then how do you manage it - increase individual salaries based on the distance each employee lives from work? Admin and equality nightmare.
 
resumed

my tsukinisuto commuting act today...what a difference, so relaxing! Company rules are there to be broken. Thanks to Half-Fast Mike for enlightening me on the rosai issue. As a bonus, I met Charming Kori :cool: (en route to Kichijoji?) while waiting at the Keio Line railroad crossing near Meidaimae.
 
Hey Tom, sorry to come to this thread so late. Glad to hear you're going rogue!

I'm in a similar situation. I commuted to work daily all through of summer 2010. It was fantastic -- no crowded, stress-inducing train rides. Training every day. Arriving at my desk feeling energized and ready to tackle my work. And to top it all, my company had just moved into a new building that had showers.

Then in mid-September, I got hit from behind by a truck while riding to work. I made the mistake of informing the General Affairs Department about the incident -- I needed them to fill out a simple form so that I could get compensated by the driver's insurance for the day of work I missed. That set in motion a Kafka-esque chain of events that ended with my incident being brought before the board of directors so they could sign off on the paperwork.

What I should have done is kept mum about the accident and not worried about missing a day of vacation pay. Up until then, I was never explicitly told not to ride to work. Certainly, my bucho never said anything about it, and he saw my cycling kit hanging in the corner every day. I guess you could call it a "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

But the General Affairs people -- who I will say were extremely courteous and seemed genuinely concerned about my health after the crash -- straight up told me to stop riding in to work. Bummer. They cited as a main reason the fact that I am reimbursed for my train commuting fees -- 350 yen each way, to be exact. I will say that in addition to the training benefits of cycling to work, that 700 yen saved each day was a nice little cherry on top. My cycling to work had been an open secret within my section, and I even asked a few of my sempai about whether it was OK to ride to work while still getting money for the trains. They basically told me that how I chose to get to work was my business.

Anyway, after the accident, I was a good boy and stopped cycling in (partly because I was spooked to be on the streets given that I was clocked as a result of driver error. I mean, at the time of the crash, I was in the proper lane, was wearing neon green and had lights flashing in the daylight. The insurance ruling was 100% in my favor.). So instead of cycling in, I started running to work. Which was fantastic, but I ramped up the mileage too fast -- it is a 15km run, after all -- and developed a twinge in my knee.

Anyhoo, after the quake, I jumped back on the Bomber and started riding to work again. It felt -- it feels -- justified. So for the past couple of weeks, I've been bombing to and from work, and I love it. My sense is that the General Affairs folks were just following the script and told me what they had to tell me, but that nobody really cares how I get to the office as long as I don't walk around in my kit all day.

Still, there is a niggling concern that word of my "roguery" will reach the wrong person and lead to some kind of stern action. I guess if that happens, I'll trot out the earthquake defense.

Until then, I'll be bombing, baby! Hope to see some of you in the streets...

Deej

P.S. One option for people working in the Otemachi, Kanda, Maruouchi area is to use the shower at the Chiyoda-Ku Sports Center and park your bike there. Though I don't use it for that purpose because I have showers at work, I do have a 5,000 yen monthly membership, and that lets you use the facilities as many times a day as you like. I think the fee for just the shower is 350 yen (no membership needed for this).

5600102463_026e13bf56_z.jpg
 
Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell

Absolutely right Deej...this is very much a Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell thingy. Thursday night's tremble was the extra encouragement for me to go rogue again. I'm trying to keep as low a profile as possible by entering the office and changing into my business attire before everybody else arrives. The bike goes right besides me tucked half away under my desk. At the end of te day when stepping out of the office, I make sure not to walk my bicycle past the Somubu General Affairs Department :D! For the time being not on a daily basis but on selected days...
 
Glad to see so many "Rogues"...hahahaha maybe we should start a Rogues Gallery!
 
Did you like my kit under designated sweaty 'work clothes' Tom? It was great (not) running into you.
With as much as my school/company wants me to work, it's also the best chance to enjoy the blossoms.

I highly recommend the kanda river for relaxed viewing. It has too many gates to be fast enough for a normal commute but super in bloom right now:D

Go rouge! :angel:
 
They cited as a main reason the fact that I am reimbursed for my train commuting fees -- 350 yen each way, to be exact.

Deej, can`t you argue that cycling still has costs involved - tyre wear, inner tube wear, chain wear, cassette wear, brake pad wear, rim wear, cost of lube...etc. I can claim travel costs for one of my jobs here, and they said that even though I go by bike I am allowed to claim the cost of the bus for the equivalent journey.
 
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