Futako Tamagawa, Tokyo – May 18, 2026
A peaceful neighborhood in Futako Tamagawa became the scene of an unfortunate act of vandalism when a student’s bicycle was found damaged overnight. The incident left both the bike’s owner and his friend shocked. Three days before the incident, Sungwoo K(‘30), a student from South Korea, arrived in Japan to visit his close friend, HJ. Excited to spend time together, the two friends explored the area and enjoyed various activities during Sungwoo’s stay. HJ(‘30) wanted to show Sungwoo a new bicycle he had purchased two weeks earlier. The bike was black with large, thin wheels. The friends took turns riding the bicycle around the neighborhood before heading to McDonald’s for dinner. According to both students, the evening was very fun. They spent time eating together and playing Brawl Stars before returning to HJ’s house to watch a movie. As the night grew darker, Sungwoo realized he needed to return to his hotel. Because it was already dark outside, Sungwoo asked HJ, “Can I borrow your bike for the day so I can make the trip back to his hotel easier?” HJ hesitated because the bicycle was new and he didn’t want anything to happen to it, but he eventually agreed. In HJ’s interview, he said, “The night was dark, and I thought it would be dangerous to send Sungwoo alone.” Sungwoo arrived at his hotel at approximately 11:00 p.m. Before going inside, he searched for a proper bicycle parking area where he could leave the bike overnight. He searched for several minutes but was unsucesful to find one near buy. It was Sungwoo’s first trip to Japan, so he was unfamiliar with local regulations. Sungwoo decided to lock the bicycle to a rail near an escalator close to the hotel. He later stated that he did not know that parking a bicycle in an unauthorized public area was against the law in Japan. Sungwoo stated, “I thought leaving it there for one night would be okay. I didn’t even know it was illegal.” After securing the bicycle, Sungwoo returned to his hotel room and went to sleep because he had had a long and tiring day. The following morning, Sungwoo woke up and prepared to return the bicycle to HJ. However, when he retrieved the bike, he immediately noticed that something was wrong. In the interview, Sungwoo recalled that “The bike felt strangely slow and softer than it had the night before.” When Sungwoo did a closer inspection of the bike, he discovered that the front tire had been punctured. A small hole in the tire had caused all of the air to leak out. In addition to the damaged tire, multiple scratches were visible across the bicycle’s frame. The damage was likely caused over the night. No witnesses have yet been identified, and the person responsible for this still remains unknown in the status quo. Sungwoo went to fix the bike at a nearby bike shop. It cost him 5000 yen to fix the bike. The bicycle shop employee who heard about the incident from Sungwoo advised that vandalism cases are uncommon but not unheard of. According to the employee, “Bicycles that appear new or expensive are sometimes targeted by individuals intent on causing trouble.” The employee said that bicycle owners should use multiple locks and park in well-monitored locations whenever possible. When Sungwoo told HJ about what happened, HJ was shocked. He was shocked not only because the bike was vandalised but because it was vandalised in such a quiet and peaceful place like Futako Tamagawa. After this incident, HJ conducted an internet survey asking the 70 students of Saint Mary’s if they had their bikes stolen or vandalised in any way inside Tokyo. 24.3% answered that they had an experience where their bike was stolen or damaged. The incident also caused concern among some students. Futako Tamagawa is generally known as a safe and friendly area, making the vandalism even more surprising to those who heard about it. Several students, including Leo and Tom, who responded to HJ’s survey, commented that they had always considered bicycle theft and vandalism to be rare in Tokyo. However, some students shared stories of having bicycle lights stolen or entire bicycles taken from train stations and shopping areas. In the end, both students agreed that the most important thing was that nobody was injured and that the situation could be resolved peacefully. This shows people in Tokyo that crimes like this do not happen often, but still have a possibility of happening. People should be more aware of where they park their bikes and how they park them. There are 3 solutions to this problem that people can remember and use for this. Firstly, make sure that there are surveillance cameras around the biking place. Secondly, make sure that the place is not too public, and lastly, make sure that the bike is fully locked. If people keep these, there will be fewer people to be victims of these kinds of crimes. If these resolutions are kept, there will be a safer society. After receiving his bike from Sungwoo, HJ said, “I am just relieved that nothing dangerous happened to Sungwoo, and I hope this doesn’t happen again.”