Cycling

Cycling in Osaka: the rules and the fines

Since 1 April 2026 a bicycle rider aged 16 or over can be given a "blue ticket": a fixed fine, paid at a bank or post office. The police still mostly give a warning; the ticket is for the dangerous violations, and for any that actually put others at risk. Share bikes are bicycles like any other.

The five basics

1

Ride on the road, on the left. The sidewalk is the exception, and pedestrians come first there.

2

Obey the signals and stop signs at junctions, and look before you go.

3

Use a light at night.

4

No riding after drinking.

5

Wear a helmet. The law asks you to try; there is no fine.

National Police Agency

The fines

What a blue ticket costs for the violations a visitor on a bike is most likely to make, with the police's own name for each.

12,000 yen携帯電話使用等（保持）

Holding a phone to talk or to look at the screen. The highest bicycle fine.

7,000 yen遮断踏切立入り

Going onto a level crossing while the barrier is closing or the alarm is ringing.

6,000 yen信号無視

Running a red light; also turning right at a signalled junction without the two-stage turn.

6,000 yen通行区分違反

Riding on the right-hand side against the traffic, or on a sidewalk or footpath strip where you may not.

6,000 yen横断歩行者等妨害等

Not stopping for people on a crossing.

6,000 yen安全運転義務違反

Riding without holding the handlebars, or on the back wheel.

5,000 yen指定場所一時不停止等

Not stopping at a stop sign.

5,000 yen無灯火

No light at night.

5,000 yen公安委員会遵守事項違反

Holding an umbrella, or wearing earphones that keep out the traffic. Every prefecture bans both; one earbud or open-ear earphones are fine while you can hear.

5,000 yen自転車制動装置不良

Riding a bike with no brakes or broken ones.

3,000 yen軽車両乗車積載制限違反

Two people on one bike. Allowed: a pre-school child in a child seat behind a rider 16 or over, and a tandem or three-wheeled bike with a seat for each.

3,000 yen並進禁止違反

Riding side by side.

3,000 yen歩道徐行等義務違反

Where you may ride on a sidewalk: not keeping slow on the road side, or not stopping for pedestrians.

Not a ticket: a crime

Riding after drinking, at any level of alcohol, is banned. At 0.15 mg per litre of breath or more: up to 3 years in prison or a 500,000 yen fine; unfit to ride: up to 5 years or 1,000,000 yen. Offering a rider a drink, giving a bike to someone who has been drinking, or getting a drunk rider to carry you is punished too.

Using a phone so that you actually cause danger: up to 1 year in prison or a 300,000 yen fine.

Road rage, such as cutting in or braking hard to obstruct a vehicle: up to 3 years in prison or a 500,000 yen fine, in principle.

After an accident you must help anyone hurt and report it to the police. Not helping: up to 1 year in prison or a 100,000 yen fine; not reporting: up to 3 months or 50,000 yen.

When you may ride on the sidewalk

Where a sign says so (普通自転車歩道通行可); when the rider is under 13, 70 or over, or has a disability; and when the road is not safe to ride, with roadworks, a line of parked cars, very heavy traffic or a narrow road. Then ride slowly, on the road side of the sidewalk, and stop when you would get in a pedestrian's way. Simply riding on the sidewalk is, in principle, met with a warning. National Police Agency

If you are given a blue ticket

The officer hands you the ticket and a payment slip. If you accept the violation, take the slip to a bank or post office counter and pay within 7 days from the next day, in principle. Paid, the case goes no further: no court and no criminal record. Unpaid, you are told to appear at the traffic infraction centre on the date on the ticket, and an unpaid fine goes the criminal route. National Police Agency

Sources

出典：警察庁ウェブサイト「自転車の新しい制度」「自転車の交通ルール」「よくある質問」、「自転車を安全・安心に利用するために－自転車への交通反則通告制度（青切符）の導入－（自転車ルールブック）」（警察庁）を加工して作成 (PDL1.0). Read 2026-10-04. DealOsaka chose the rules and fines a visitor on a bike is most likely to meet and translated them; the full list is in the rulebook.