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May 30 2011 23 Comments

A long-abandoned, beautifully decayed, bike

Lost, discarded, or often stolen and discarded bicycles are a common sight in Tokyo. Some are left alone, whereas others are used as conveniently placed bins, resulting in their baskets gradually filling with garbage. But none of them, not by any means, come anywhere close to being as beautiful as this one.

abandoned bike in Tokyo

An old to begin with machine that is perfectly preserved (and yet at the same time not preserved), in a manner that, for me at least, is pretty much perfect.

abandoned bike in Tokyo

Categorized: Photography

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. tamh says

    5/30/2011 at 8:45 am

    I wonder how many moons has that bike endured the going and coming of seasons, the burning sun and the cold ice.
    Yet, as you said, it stays there as perfect as ever. I might not even touch it, for the fear of destroying it. Maybe that is the reason it is still standing there.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      5/30/2011 at 3:46 pm

      Same as. I didn’t touch it. Just took photos. I can’t imagine how long it has been there, especially as it’s an old style bike to begin with. Amazing it has been left that long.

      Reply
  2. James says

    5/30/2011 at 9:28 am

    That is really beautiful. Reminds me of some Robert Frost poem. How did you find it?

    Reply
    • Lee says

      5/30/2011 at 3:50 pm

      Thanks James. I’m not familiar with Robert Frost, so I’ll have to do some research.

      Luckily I just came across it on a bike ride. I was trying to find a way down to the river, and I saw it through the trees. Needless to say it was well worth the effort of finding a way down to it.

      Reply
  3. Georgia says

    5/30/2011 at 1:26 pm

    that is really something nice

    Reply
    • Lee says

      5/30/2011 at 3:51 pm

      Cheers Georgia. I couldn’t believe it when I saw it. It made my day.

      Reply
  4. Calissaja says

    5/31/2011 at 12:49 am

    The next time I have to try and explain wabi-sabi to someone, I’ll send them here. Despite my usual relationship with bikes, this brought tears to my eyes. I just want to give it a (very gentle) hug.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      5/31/2011 at 9:52 am

      That’s a good point Calissaja, there is certainly an element of wabi-sabi about it.

      Reply
  5. Matt says

    5/31/2011 at 1:18 am

    I’m amazed that its still in one piece after obviously being left there so long. Its almost as if your bike took you to find it.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      5/31/2011 at 9:54 am

      Yes, it was an almost too good to be true find.

      Reply
  6. NihonBurp says

    5/31/2011 at 5:49 pm

    Quite possibly a perfect visual metaphor, showing time never stands still, all things will eventually age and crumble. love it.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      5/31/2011 at 11:02 pm

      Yeah, a bit special isn’t it?

      Reply
    • Jeffrey says

      6/1/2011 at 1:23 am

      Yes, as Neil Young told us, “rust never sleeps.” Sorry, couldn’t resist.

      Reply
      • Lee says

        6/1/2011 at 10:51 am

        No need to apologise for a Neil Young reference!

        Reply
        • Jeffrey says

          6/2/2011 at 2:28 am

          You know, Lee, it actually comes from the ad for a spray paint product called Rust-Oleum, as suggested to Neil Young by Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo.

          http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rust_Never_Sleeps

          Reply
          • Lee says

            6/2/2011 at 4:37 pm

            No way, I had no idea about that!

            Reply
  7. willy says

    5/31/2011 at 8:27 pm

    Corrosion par excellence.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      6/1/2011 at 10:52 am

      Yeah, exactly how I saw/see it.

      Reply
  8. Jeffrey says

    6/1/2011 at 1:10 am

    Quite beautiful, actually. Particularly when compares to the eye sores and nuisance that the thousands of newer bikes become once inexplicably abandoned all over every major Japanese city.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      6/1/2011 at 10:53 am

      Exactly. Abandoned bikes are everywhere, and like you say, simply eyesores, but this one is something else altogether.

      Reply
  9. Grass Jelly says

    6/2/2011 at 6:33 am

    Wow, what happened to the seat cushion or the rubber on the wheels? They just rotted away? Aren’t rubber tires notoriously bad at decomposing and are essentially non-biodegradable?

    That bike must have been sitting there for several decades.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      6/2/2011 at 4:39 pm

      Considering the design of the bike, it could well have been left for decades, although whether it has been in that exact same spot the whole time is something we’ll probably never know…

      Reply
  10. nakota says

    6/2/2011 at 9:23 am

    this kinda reminds me of when i was 10, i was hunting in the woods with my stepdad and out in the middle of the woods was an old tractor that had been sitting there for so long that a tree was growing through the axel i wish i had a picture of it.. i live in the southern us where theres a lot of wooded area so often going through the woods you could find lots of abandoned cars and farm equipment

    Reply

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