Lost and Found in Japan
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93)
Thu 2008/03/06 11:46
I recall the time when I left my brand new mobile phone on the train on the way home just after buying it. Was reading the manual and was so excited that I totally forgot about the box which I left on the baggage shelf.
Realized that I forgot the phone as I was approaching the ticket barriers at my home station. Went to the station guy to let him know of my dilemma.
He asked which train and I told him it was the one that just left the platform. He looked at his train schedule and said "OK, it was the 20:22 from Shinuku to Saginomiya. Do you remember which carriage and at which end of the carriage?"
After letting him know it was the first carriage at the 3rd door, he called somebody at the next next station and instructed somebody to look for my poor phone on that train at the carriage location that I described.
He hung up the phone and got a call a few mins later - the station guys at the next next station had intercepted my phone. I went to that station immediately and upon arrival they asked me to describe the bag and the contents to make sure I was the owner. Luckily I didn't have any dolphin care products inside or describing the contents would have been interesting ^^;
Upon regaining contact with my new phone, I was having a few mins of disbelief about me getting my phone back. I had just moved to Japan at the time after living in the UK all my life and I know that if the same thing happened in back there, it would have been sayonara to new phone.
The only "major" loss that I remember was my bus pass when I was about 16. It had about 20 pounds in it and I was devastated ^^;
As for my friends, I remember one who left her GameBoy and a bag of games on the train - it was sayonara to her game device forever.
Have you lost anything in your region and were you able to recover it? Are people good about handing things in?
My first memories of Japan were sunny afternoons walking around in Akihabara drinking so...(more)
Tue 03/04 13:45 comments (93)
yay! first comment
(ID #126141) Posted on 2008/03/05 20:15
When I was 11, I left my P.E bag in a train on the Underground, my GBC was inside it too! I called the London Underground customer service, they directed me the Distric Line terminal office. The bag made it all the way to the last stop @ Upminster w/o anyone picking it up! >.< So I got my stuff back and I missed P.E that week too! (yay~) Today, if you forget your bag in the train, bomb squad will come to blow it up -_-;
(ID #126143) Posted on 2008/03/05 20:20
LOL, so true! XD I was surprised when they once closed King's Cross 'cause somebody had left a suspicious bag there! I was late for uni... ·___·;;
(ID #192666) Posted on 2008/05/21 05:47
recently lost cash equivalent to something like 70 usd. wont be seeing that one anymore. my only regret is that i could have bought some more figurines. japan is nice that people respect other people's belongings. i wish everywhere is like that.
(ID #126152) Posted on 2008/03/05 20:38
in indonesia, if you lost something, the probability for it to returned to you is almost 0%(no, it IS 0%). there are some cases if you lost your wallet, the wallet will be returned to you, but only the wallet. the person who found it will take the money, credit card, ATM card. and then he/she will return it to your address and left it at the garbage bin
(ID #126154) Posted on 2008/03/05 20:42
LMAO at "dolphin care trouble" XD Trains here are 100%-sayonara-garanteed. So there's no need in such services like "lost-and-found", it would be completly uselessю Folks here are "fast and furious" ^^;
(ID #126157) Posted on 2008/03/05 20:48
he he dolphin care products.. didn't know tenga was in to environmentalism... i work in lost and found at a hotel.. i'd say it about 50% on finding stuff.. thats if the STAFF didn't take it.. but something small like a cell phone or a DS.. forget it... its gone.. reminds me a time of my wife when we first got here.. went to Mc D's.. and left her purse under the table and left.. remembered not 2 minutes later and drove back and it was gone.. and the counter lady was zero help.. she probably took it.. lesson.. don't leave stuff in the us that you want back!
(ID #126159) Posted on 2008/03/05 20:56
Lost my wallet once at Sentosa.... Got it back minus the 20 bucks in it. Guess some punks took it....
(ID #126160) Posted on 2008/03/05 20:57
I lost my wallet once, with $50 inside, and someone found it and returned it to me back with only my Student ID Pass left in the wallet ( > _ < ) This was when I was still in high school =/
(ID #126162) Posted on 2008/03/05 21:05
if the same thing happened in malaysia, the guy at the other station would have intercepted it and told you that its no longer there and make it his own. come' on even umbrellas are not spared
(ID #126163) Posted on 2008/03/05 21:08
I left my brand new Neil Gaiman book American Gods in a cab after work and it was gone. :(
(ID #126166) Posted on 2008/03/05 21:25
ひきこもり/Hikikomori. Suits my current state more than a 大学生/University Student. ^^
With this level of safety, living in Japan does seem equal to more peace of mind. Well, all the more reason to move there~ ^^ @Danny Just curious, do you still have the cellphone? ^^
(ID #126167) Posted on 2008/03/05 21:32
WebDesign, Coding, Administration
Nope, never lost something, lucky me. ^o^v I'm a pretty carefull person when it comes to my stuffs, i tend to check my bags like 2 times before i leave somewere. Also in trains etc. pp. i always keep my belogings close to me. I'm very afraid of losing something i really like.
(ID #126170) Posted on 2008/03/05 21:48
marvin (Registered on 2006/12/24 23:42)
I remember leaving some Starwars movie posters on a bus overhead shelf back in Vancouver. it was sayonara posters for me. Although I remember my Dad lost his mobile phone in Japan once, the guy who found the phone was so kind as to go all the way to where we were to return the phone. thats Japan for you. ^^
(ID #126174) Posted on 2008/03/05 22:03
anime/cosplay events organizer
there are times here that some people will return your lost item but there are also times that it will be lost forever but mostly people will return your lost item intact ^^
(ID #126176) Posted on 2008/03/05 22:06
Left my animation paper on the bus and was bye bye for them ... had to buy a new package of animation paper, cost me 50 bux ><
(ID #126178) Posted on 2008/03/05 22:12
HMMaster (Registered on 2007/09/03 23:40)
An interesting read about lost and found in Japan: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/08/international/asia/08LOST.html?ex=1388898000&en=98f9bd88863a14f5&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND
(ID #126179) Posted on 2008/03/05 22:14
University Student.
Over here, most things that are lost = sayonara. Only once did a taxi driver returned my lost handphone (maybe cause I was calling it non-stop for about 30mins). Anything else...well... /wave forever lol. 3 times I lost my mp3 player :( (2 times was brand new, I'm such a forgetful slop)
(ID #126189) Posted on 2008/03/05 22:41
Software Developer
I remember I lost a CD wallet full with 20 of my favorite albums, when I was in College. I left it in the plane, back from a trip to Florida. It was a sayonara... Guys from the airport were not able to find it. Also, I lost once my home key in the middle of a soccer ground. I fell from my sport bag, but was finally recovered after almost one hour searching for it ^^;
(ID #126193) Posted on 2008/03/05 22:51
Part human, part student, 100% loser
LOL, I'm in Japan?! How is that possible?! Anyway, I lost my library card and bas pass before... Alot of money gone, just like that and didn't get it back... Thinking about it, makes me feel even more of a loser than I already am...
(ID #126196) Posted on 2008/03/05 23:15
Web/Graphic designer and Illustrator
I remember when I was in highschool I lost my school ID and it was returned by my crush XP. Anyway, here in the Philippines you can say sayonara to your stuff if you left it anywhere. Finders keepers. Though there are a few good souls that still have a heart and return lost stuff to the owners. Especially big monies. They even feature those on TV to set as an example to everyone.
(ID #126197) Posted on 2008/03/05 23:19
Student and full-time otaku
Thankfully haven't ever lost anything, because getting back lost stuff is very unlikely. Leave that kind of service to the Japanese XD
(ID #126203) Posted on 2008/03/05 23:23
College Student
@Lostandfound: LOL! I lost my Nokia 3210 7 years ago, in an arcade, back in old Philippines, and i never got it back. It was brand new... It fell off my pocket when i was playing a racing game. I just recovered my old PS memory card that i thought i lost after moving so much. ^^;
(ID #126205) Posted on 2008/03/05 23:24
宅男 Otaku/ 工程师 Engineer
this post reminds me of fellow member lostandfound. ^^;
anyway in singapore if u lost something, the chances of u getting it back is very slim. finders keepers i say. ('~')
i heard before of people who found a wallet, took the money and deposit the wallet with everything else inside into a nearby postbox/mailbox. the postman who see the wallet will then deliver the wallet to the owner's house based on the address on the identity card/driver license.
(ID #126207) Posted on 2008/03/05 23:26
hahaha like getting back what you lost could happen here lots of mobile thefts have been happening here on gunpoint.
(ID #126229) Posted on 2008/03/06 00:15
Recording Engineer, Musician, IT Technician
I found a diamond engagement ring outside of a grocery store once. I turned it over to the store's lost and found box. I never knew if person ever recovered it. Hopefully someone in the store did not sell it.
(ID #126243) Posted on 2008/03/06 00:40
That's amazing. If you were here, bye bye phone forever. People aren't as nice as people over in Japan. You were sure lucky Danny. Maybe I should move to Japan soon...
(ID #126246) Posted on 2008/03/06 00:53
Game Designer
I forgot my wedding ring at the Japanese Consulate here in Los Angeles (you can imagine how freaked out I was). I was certain it was lost forever, but once my wife (far more level headed than I), deduced that I must have left it at the consulate, I called them up and sure enough they had it and were holding it for me. So... not sure if that counts as having lost my ring in the US... or "Japan". ^_~
(ID #126250) Posted on 2008/03/06 01:11
Service desk support
The system actually works in Japan. In London, it may as well be called lost and... Lost. I left a small spool of blank media on a bus once before. Never saw it again. Not a major loss but still annoyed.
(ID #126254) Posted on 2008/03/06 01:28
I forgot my wallet (had like $100 in it and several bank cards and personal id's) on a streetcar, and I got it back from the lost and found station (billions of lost stuff in there with no one to claim the ownership... and i swear i saw at least 10 laptops in there...) with everything in it. So i'm pretty happy about what they do here in Toronto. ^.^ Actually it's all about social morals and how people take these morals seriously. IT would be very very far-gone if that thing of mine happened on a streetcar in China...
(ID #126255) Posted on 2008/03/06 01:28
When I was walking down a busy street in the center of the town where I live the person who was walking in front of me dropped his headphones, so (of course) I picked them up and knocked on his shoulders to give them to him. The funny thing is that exactly the same thing happened to me a month later or so, I dropped my expensive headphones when taking out something else from my pocket. But luckily someone behind me saw it and returned them to me. Karma, ne?
(ID #126258) Posted on 2008/03/06 01:33
I left my cellphone on a public transport and I never got it back. If it's something valuable, chance is you won't get it back ever >.>
(ID #126261) Posted on 2008/03/06 01:41
trying to stay relevant
My suitcase was once put on an airport bus at a hotel in Tokyo without the porter telling me the bus was there... (I missed the bus arrival myself because being British I had no concept of public transport arriving on time). When I told them what had happened they paid for a taxi to take me to the airport, where I found the case had been handed in. Phew.
(ID #126262) Posted on 2008/03/06 01:55
I lost my virginity once. Never saw it ever again. I even saw who took it... ^^
(ID #126264) Posted on 2008/03/06 02:00
hmm. I must have lost about £15 of over the course of life and I always loose clothes or towels when on holiday.
(ID #126269) Posted on 2008/03/06 02:18
When I was 9 and we moved to the U.S., I had brought aboard a briefcase full of Matchbox cars with me as a carry on. Right upon arrival at LAX, the latch popped open and all my collectible cars were rolling around everywhere on the aircraft.... I got most of them back, but I'm sure I did not recover some of them. :(
(ID #126270) Posted on 2008/03/06 02:25
At the age of 5, I left my "Gameboy Brick" on the airplane. Then 2 years ago lost my wallet at the shanghai airport(This is was the most devastating, considering how much money I just got from my relatives in HK). Recently I dropped my cell some where in the streets. I never saw those things ever again, so all of them went "sayonara" >_>;
(ID #126275) Posted on 2008/03/06 02:45
Strangely enough, I just had a dream this morning where I left my DS on the bus. It was terrible. My brother lost his new DS at school last year. Then he took all my old games and traded them in for a new DS. It was a promo at a store here.
(ID #126276) Posted on 2008/03/06 03:02
part time illustrationist, doll clothing seamstress
This was in Singapore: I dropped my first cell phone (of a few years, but it was quite well taken care of :P) while shopping and it was sayonara, I'm sure someone saw it dropped, picked it up and pocketed it (grrr!) It was not any fancy phone too, but it was painful to have to cancel the number, fork out another few hundred to get a new phone *shakes fists at the thief* In Canada, someone I know (no not my husband LOL) misplaced his phone before at a mall, but cos his phone was a really old model it was found and he got it back. But if it was a new phone it'd defninitely be sayonara =_=; A bit OT: this is also in canada, we had experienced a pickpocket on chinese new year day (forgot if it was the year before or 2 years ago) and it was awful cos just got some $ to pack red packet o_o; and the real pain is to have to get a buncha IDs/cards replaced x_x you get the gist!
(ID #126277) Posted on 2008/03/06 03:03
the most recent item i lost was a brand new white w810 sony cellphone while clubbing. i'm guessing it slipped out of my pocket while i was grinding up against some girls. never saw it again, whoever took it could've at least returned my SIM card :( LOL @ FatB, i remember losing that too, shame i never got it back either.
(ID #126281) Posted on 2008/03/06 03:27
People generally don't turn things in around here, once somethings lost it's usually forever. Last time I lost something I managed I was out after work, got very drunk and left my bag in the pub. 1 PSP and 2 games, 2 japanese textbooks and 6 volumes of Fullmetal Alchemist manga I had just bought. I did actually manage to get the bag back though, and was pretty amazed to see everything there. Was very lucky, thought the PSP would have been lifted for sure (pretty sure most thieves would have left the manga though ^_^).
(ID #126283) Posted on 2008/03/06 03:49
Stigmata Martyr
I haven't lost anything major like a laptop or an expensive phone but I did lost a pair of earrings given by an ex-girlfriend once. i went through all the trouble of tracing my way back all the way around university grounds to look for it. I was about to give up when out of the blue there it was in front of me lying in the grass under a tree.
(ID #126287) Posted on 2008/03/06 03:59
Luckily i haven't forgotten anything before, at least not something important enough that i remember losing it.
(ID #126292) Posted on 2008/03/06 04:15
Anime & Ferrari fanboy
My friend ended up losing his wallet on a bus before with everything in it. When he realized that he lost his wallet lots of cursing happened, phoned the bus station and he got his wallet back 1 hour later with everything as it was. Lucky.
(ID #126294) Posted on 2008/03/06 04:23
Graphic Designer / Illustrator
one more reason to go and stay in japan ^_^;
(ID #126298) Posted on 2008/03/06 04:28
Lucky for me I haven't lost anything in the train so far. Here in Holland it's sayonara for sure if things are valuable (only unmbrellas, scarfs, etc. are left alone).
(ID #126310) Posted on 2008/03/06 05:52
In Brazil you can pretty much say Sayonara to most things lost. Usually, when some huge amount of money is lost and someone actually returns it, this alone is reason to make news for a long time... it happened once before. As for me, about a month ago I forgot brand new swimming equipment that cost me around 140R$ (70US$) on a gym that I was making a test class. I called them the next day, and sayonara. Needless to say I didn't go back there... the gym didn't even have lockers. And if there are people willing to steal swimming equipment, the next thing I would loose would probably be my wallet and cellphone. On the other hand, few weeks ago I lost a credit card on a big shopping center... I called some stores I used it last, no luck. I was starting to get desperate when someone adviced me to call the shopping center administration... they had found my credit card. Next day I went there and got it back. Very grateful..
(ID #126316) Posted on 2008/03/06 06:17
Student
I remember leaving a bag with a bunch of things like an issue of Newtype, a couple manga and maybe an artbook in the arcade. I 1-credit-cleared Giga Wing and I was so happy about it that as I left, I forgot to get my stuff lol Thankfully, when I came back, the staff got my stuff and held onto it, so I could just get my stuff back.
(ID #126317) Posted on 2008/03/06 06:32
.NET/Web Developer
I put an envelope and my jacket and a couple of software cds aside while I was shopping at a certain store trying out their things and totally forgot about it when I left coz all I was thinking bout was the stuff that I just bought. LOL. I was just glad that the next day when I came back to the store they still was holding on to my stuff. ^^ I'm usually lucky when it comes to these things. XD
(ID #126321) Posted on 2008/03/06 06:47
Leisure Consultant, Writer, Webmaster
I once lost a bag of expensive clothes on the D train coming back to Brooklyn for Manhattan. It was pretty much the same story. I was so excited about the clothes that I forgot I had them. I also lost my wallet a few times, but luckily I didn't have anything in it. The worst lost I ever had was when I lost my gaijin card in Osaka. I was real angry because even though I filed a report with the police I couldn't find it. I got it replaced a few weeks later though. Since then I haven't lost anything important.
(ID #126322) Posted on 2008/03/06 06:48
VF-25 Pilot. Universariate Scholar.
lost a wrist watch once. left it at the pool side and never saw it again. also included in the lost: 1.Handphone 2.wallet 3.pencil case 4.innocence
(ID #126338) Posted on 2008/03/06 07:25
I once dropped my wallet in a cab and called the cab company about it. Within an hour, the driver came back to the drop off point with my wallet and everything intact, he even refused to let me pay for his trip back to return my wallet. That really made my day knowing honest people still exist
(ID #126344) Posted on 2008/03/06 07:34
Japan is so honest most of the time... Me: I seemed to lost my baby son... Police: What the!? Me: Well this is lost and found Police: Oh, it's in the top self... Me:.......
(ID #126351) Posted on 2008/03/06 07:51
Itinerant Philosopher, Erstwhile Minion
I lost my (rented) cell phone on the subway while in Japan. It ended up at the lost and found, so I just had to go out and recover it, but I was real worried for a while. Getting that back saved me a _lot_ of money.
(ID #126358) Posted on 2008/03/06 08:28
Physical Therapy student
in 3 years I lost about 6 umbrellas T__T I always end up leaving it somewhere..and when I come back..it's gone. No matter how long I look for it, I'm never going to find it. People here have a habit of picking up things that don't belong to them. So shameful really. I remember one of my friends was studying in one of the side benches inside our college building. She left her bag and all her textbooks..They took the one we need to use for that day.
(ID #126368) Posted on 2008/03/06 08:54
Student Engineer
Yes, and sayonara. I have found many items here on campus though belonging to other people: All of them recovered their devices because I turned them in. 1) Wallet 2) Phone 3) Ipod
(ID #126369) Posted on 2008/03/06 08:55
suneo (Registered on 2007/12/17 19:42)
about 7 years ago I was in Japan with my dad doin a little otaku shopping for the very first time, and I bought a Keiji Gotoh artbook (his first one with wedding dress Ruri on the cover). I think somewhere along the store and on the way back (possibly the train) I ended up losing it. I totally don't remember where I remember having it last though, and neither of us thought about going to the lost and found :( So it was goodbye prized artbook... A week later though in Taiwan (Japan was a 2 day side trip) I came across the same book in an anime store and picked it up (though it may very well be a bootleg lol...)
(ID #134826) Posted on 2008/03/06 09:02
