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@jadias
Japan's bike laws are... strange, to say the least. No-one really knows what they are. Including the police!
I've been told by cops to get off the road and ride on the pavement. Then two blocks down I've been told to get off the pavement and ride on the road by a different cop. A lot of the pavements have dedicated cycle lanes (that people inevitably walk in), some have signs stating that you can ride on them, and some are officially pedestrian-only but no-one gives a shit. It's really confusing.
Basically the first part of my university commute is on a pavement cycle lane (dodging onto the pavement itself or the road when neccessary - carefully! - to avoid the morons who walk in the lane) and the second part is on a road, between which are kerbs. You often find it's neccessary to transition from one to the other outside of that commute, too, and often there are decent sized drops down.
In short: Japan is a mess and you just end up learning to use common sense and ride wherever is safest.