To bike or not to bike

I’ve been researching train fares today. Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS), the university I will be attending, is situated quite a walk from central Tokyo. Getting from Tama Station to Shinjuku and back will be 920 Yen, which is a lot more than I expected. Adding the numbers up and expecting bi-/triweekly visits to the centre, it will cost me around $1200 for 10 months to get downtown, excluding the actual travel within. For some reason I remember it to be cheaper in 2007 when I visited Tokyo first, but a reasonable explanation for this fiscal illusion might be the fact that at that time I was a tourist.

Anyhow, this has brought up the question if purchasing a bicycle will help reduce my travel costs. Without going into elaborate calculations: ..maybe? Traveling to the centre by bike takes too long, therefore I will have to shed those 920 Yen if I like it or not. However, I could take my bike with me and save the fares within central Tokyo by biking everywhere. Plus, a good friend lives in Fuchu, the other direction, and biking there is feasible and would save about the amount I’d have to spend on a bike.

Googleing for cheap bikes leads me to believe that I’ll pay around 9,000-10,000 for a decent bike. Here’s one such facility (re)selling bikes for cheap:

http://www.sjc.ne.jp/suginami/NEWS/SGI1026_HTM.htm

Once I arrive, I will check the local authorities if there are some recycling projects going on in my area.