meiwaku
迷惑
noun
　an annoyance, a nuisance
　(Japanese)

My first ride on my first Brompton took me down the boulevard that runs through the center of the Ginza shopping district in Tokyo. It was natural to refrain from testing the bell on my new bike since I had long grown accustomed to the fact that irritating or inconveniencing others is highly frowned upon in this densely populated country.

However, once on a side street that I had verified was entirely absent of others, I let rip. And, well, nothing. Not strictly nothing but not far off. A Jedi High Council member at 2 meters separation may have sensed the most tiny of disturbances - a mechanical cry of warning from a galaxy far, far away. Those with less Force in them wouldn’t have stood a chance.

Given how stunningly well engineered a Brompton bike is, the decibel challenged bell puzzled me until I had a flash of inspiration. Of course, Bromptons shipped to Japan come not with a stock London bell but with a low meiwaku variant for the local market. An utterly brilliant insight which I discovered, some weeks later, was total codswallop. Clever me. No, Bromptons simply have quiet bells.

But, as Brian, of the YouTube channel i bike unfolded, demonstrated, louder equivalents don’t necessarily improve matters. So, I’ll treat the bell as decoration and shout a greeting if I need to alert a meandering pedestrian to my presence. Perhaps a cheery “Good morning!”. Definitely not something as blunt as “Err, excuse me!”" since to hint that said pedestrian may be at fault could be construed as shitsurei (rude), which is to be avoided as much as meiwaku.