Bike-share service "Charichari" completes procurement of new bicycles through finance leases with 6 companies
Charichari Co., Ltd. has completed the procurement of new bicycles through finance leases with six companies to support its full-scale expansion into the Kyoto and Otsu areas, as well as to meet growing demand in existing areas. This procurement includes special colored bicycles for the Kyoto/Otsu region and a collaboration model for the Tokyo area. The company continues to strengthen its mobility infrastructure by partnering with diverse regional and national financial institutions.
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- 📰 Published: April 2, 2026 at 21:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 2, 2026 at 13:36
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 17, 2026 at 19:55 (366h 19m after Collected)
Charichari Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Fukuoka City; Representative Director: Kentaro Iemoto; hereinafter "Charichari"), which operates the bike-share service "Charichari," has implemented the procurement of new bicycles through finance leases (hereinafter "leases") in cooperation with six companies: Kyushu Leasing Service Co., Ltd., Sagin Lease Co., Ltd., Hirogin Lease Co., Ltd., Resona Lease Co., Ltd., FFG Lease Co., Ltd., and MUFG Finance & Leasing Co., Ltd. from February to March 2026. This was done to support the full-scale expansion into the Kyoto and Otsu areas and to accommodate the increasing demand in existing areas. Furthermore, this marks the start of a new collaboration with three of these companies: Hirogin Lease Co., Ltd., FFG Lease Co., Ltd., and MUFG Finance & Leasing Co., Ltd.
With the mission to "create the next habit of town mobility," Charichari operates its bike-share service in 9 areas nationwide, starting from Fukuoka City. It has grown into a daily mobility infrastructure used over 40,000 times a day, and to support its stable operation, the company has realized bicycle procurement in cooperation with multiple leasing companies.
■ Bicycle Procurement through Collaboration with Leasing Companies
Charichari utilizes leasing as one of the methods to procure the new bicycles necessary for the growth of its service. The bike-share business requires regular replacement of bicycles to maintain service quality, as well as the rapid deployment of bicycles in response to demand and area expansion. By utilizing leases, the company is working on flexible and planned bicycle deployment aligned with its business growth phases while diversifying initial investments.
In light of the bicycle deployment plan for the first half of fiscal year 2026, the company collaborated with the following six leasing companies to procure new bicycles, primarily for the full-scale expansion into the Kyoto and Otsu areas.
[List of Leasing Companies (in alphabetical order in Japanese)]
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Kyushu Leasing Service Co., Ltd.
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Sagin Lease Co., Ltd.
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Hirogin Lease Co., Ltd.
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Resona Lease Co., Ltd.
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FFG Lease Co., Ltd.
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MUFG Finance & Leasing Co., Ltd.
Among these, Charichari has a prior track record of transactions in bicycle procurement with Resona Lease Co., Ltd., Sagin Lease Co., Ltd., and Kyushu Leasing Service Co., Ltd., and has newly initiated collaborations with Hirogin Lease Co., Ltd., FFG Lease Co., Ltd., and MUFG Finance & Leasing Co., Ltd. By building cooperative relationships with new partners in addition to strengthening collaboration with existing business partners, the company is further expanding its foundation for bicycle procurement.
■ Mobility Infrastructure Supported by Diverse Financial Partners
Charichari's bicycle procurement is supported by collaboration with diverse financial partners, ranging from community-based financial institutions to major leasing companies.
The six companies partnered with on this occasion include both financial institutions rooted in local communities and major leasing companies operating on a nationwide scale. Collaboration with regional financial institutions is a practice of "local production and local consumption of finance," solving local mobility issues with local capital, while collaboration with major leasing companies forms the foundation supporting service expansion nationwide. Promoting both regional engagement and nationwide expansion through a cooperative system with diverse financial partners is a characteristic of Charichari's bicycle procurement.
Furthermore, in addition to leasing, Charichari also has a track record of forming Japan's first personal financial product collateralized by bike-share bicycles, the "Charichari Regional Infrastructure Investment Fund," in collaboration with Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation in July 2025 through the crowdfunding platform "Securite." The company is actively creating mechanisms to sustainably support urban mobility infrastructure by leveraging diverse financial methods such as leases and movable property trusts.
■ Main Deployment Locations for New Bicycles
The main uses for the newly procured bicycles are as follows.
(1) Full-scale expansion in the Kyoto and Otsu areas
In December 2025, Charichari succeeded the bike-share service "kotobike" operated by QBEI Co., Ltd., a long-established bicycle shop in Kyoto, in Kyoto City and Otsu City through an absorption-type split, and commenced services in the Kyoto and Otsu areas. Starting in April 2026, the company rebranded the bicycles and app to Charichari and began full-scale expansion. Additionally, the company concluded a "Collaboration Agreement for Promoting the Use and Spread of Bike-Sharing" with Kyoto City on April 1 of the same year. Based on this agreement, the company will collaborate with Kyoto City to create a safe, secure, and highly convenient bike-share usage environment that complements public transportation. Including the conclusion of an agreement regarding the implementation of the "Bike-Share Project for Promoting Eco-Mobility" with Otsu City in Shiga Prefecture, the company will build a new service model under a cooperative system with local governments, using public land in Otsu City as hubs with the community, combined with Charichari's strength in flexible port deployment.
The new bicycles deployed in the Kyoto and Otsu areas feature a special color that harmonizes with the local scenery and streetscapes. While based on Charichari's service color of red, the design blends into the streets of Kyoto and Otsu, aiming to provide a service that is unified with the local community.
(2) Introduction of TUBC collaboration bicycles in the Tokyo area
In the Tokyo area, through collaboration with the professional basketball club "Tokyo United Basketball Club (TUBC)," whose home is in Koto Ward and the Tokyo Bay Area, the service availability area was expanded into Koto Ward starting in April 2026. In this procurement, the company will introduce specially colored electric-assist bicycles exclusively in Tokyo based on TUBC's team color, "UNITED BLUE," aiming to provide a service that local residents can use with a sense of familiarity.
Reference: Bike-Share Service "Charichari" Collaborates with Tokyo United Basketball Club
(3) Replacement of basic bicycles in existing areas
Charichari is advancing the development of an environment where users can freely choose between electric-assist bicycles and basic bicycles according to their usage and scenes. In February 2026, the ride fee for basic bicycles was reduced from 7 yen to 6.5 yen per minute, creating a pricing structure that makes them more accessible. Since maintaining and improving bicycle quality is essential for users to confidently choose basic bicycles, this procurement involved replacing basic bicycles that have been in operation for a long time in existing areas with new ones.
(4) Accommodating increasing demand
The company expanded the supply of electric-assist bicycles to accommodate the increasing number of users in existing areas such as Fukuoka, Kumamoto, Saga, and Kurume.
■ Future Prospects
Charichari plans additional bicycle procurement in the second half of fiscal year 2026, continuing to further expand its services and deploy into new areas. Under the mission of "creating the next habit of town mobility," the company will contribute to solving urban mobility issues by establishing bike-sharing as a daily means of transportation through efficient bicycle procurement in collaboration with diverse financial partners.
■ About Charichari
"Charichari" is a bike-share service that can be easily used by unlocking dedicated red bicycles via a smartphone app. Basic bicycles are available at 6.5 yen per minute, and electric-assist bicycles at 20.5 yen per minute, aiming to provide an experience where users can ride anytime, anywhere, the moment they want to.
The service started in Fukuoka in February 2018 and has grown to be used over 44 million times in total.
To date, it has expanded to 9 areas: Fukuoka (Fukuoka City, Nakagawa City, Shime Town, Kasuya Town), Nagoya City, Tokyo, Kumamoto (Kumamoto City, Kikuyo Town), Kurume City in Fukuoka Prefecture, Kuwana City in Mie Prefecture, Saga City in Saga Prefecture, Amakusa City in Kumamoto Prefecture, and Kyoto City / Otsu City in Shiga Prefecture.
Due to its minute-by-minute pricing and easy-to-use app specifications, it is primarily used for everyday "just down the street" mobility in each area.
■ Charichari Original Bicycle Helmet
Highly safe helmets that are easy to carry and easily stowable in bags or backpacks, while having acquired SG standard certification defined by the Consumer Product Safety Association, are currently on sale at the official online store so that they can be delivered to everyone who uses Charichari or bicycles on a daily basis.
The helmet features a design with a subtle and cute Charichari logo in subdued colors that suit everything from commuting suits to casual wear. It comes with a bonus for purchasing a Charichari ride ticket.
The proceeds from helmet sales are used as funds for safety awareness and safety education activities conducted by Charichari, as the company strives to realize the development of safe and secure towns.
Online Store: https://charichari-online.stores.jp/
■ Charichari Web and SNS Information
[Charichari]
[Official Accounts]
X (formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/charichari_bike
Instagram: https://instagram.com/charichari_bike
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@charichari_official
■ Charichari is Looking for Port Owners
Why not utilize unutilized space you may have, such as store eaves, office frontages, or parts of parking lots, as a Charichari port? A Charichari port can be set up in a small space starting from enough room for 5 bicycles. Let's utilize places that are usually unused as new value.
[Details on Port Owner Recruitment]