Lost and Found in Japan

Mar 6 • Blog • 2776 Views • No Comments

We hear this all the time here. “I lost something in Japan, but it came back all intact.” It’s so common we all take it for granted sometimes.

 

This week, I was visiting Tokyo for a few days. On the way to my return flight, I was not my usual self. Some things had happened, and I was feeling a bit out of sorts. That led me to line up in the overseas airline counter even though I was supposed to be at the domestic. Never done that before. I lost the time I thought I had, and now I was in a hurry. I checked in fine, I lined up at the security check, took out everything from my pockets, laptop, and the little cosmetic scissors out of my makeup purse. Everything came through fine and dandy, and I rushed my way to the gate where everyone was boarding the shuttle bus to the plane.

 

On the bus, I noticed something was missing in my pocket. I checked all my pockets. Nope, not there. What about my bag? Dig, dig, dig… I don’t see it. Maybe I put it in the laptop pocket of my little suitcase? …Nothing. All I found was the internal panic in my head. My iPhone was goooone.

 

I was disappointed, but felt pretty calm at the same time. For some reason, I had faith that it was safe. That same morning, I had read the article about a man visiting Japan, getting back $7000 worth of his camera gear he had left at some train station and retrieving every bit of it back. He was so appreciative of the helpfulness of people throughout the event. I was happy to read it, and it didn’t surprise me. This is Japan. That is what we expect (most of the time anyway).

 

When I was boarding the airplane, I told the ground staff of Jetstar Airlines where I thought I left it. They were on it with a smile, took my information and told me that if they find it, they’d mail it to me that evening. Once I got home, I turned on the “Find My iPhone” feature on my computer and located my phone. I could see it on my screen! (how awesome is that feature?!) I didn’t realize there was the “Lost Mode” to turn on and a message to be shown on the iPhone screen, until after someone had turned my phone off. I was an hour late to figure out those details. I was half concerned, and half believing that the phone must’ve been turned off to be mailed to me. I was really hoping for the latter.

 

Yesterday, 24 hours after the start of my quiet panic, a little package arrived at my home in Fukuoka. I paid the 1,000 yen shipping cost to the mail man. Just like that, I had my phone back in my hands, with my cash loaded IC train pass and my just-in-case 1,000 yen attached to the back of it. I was glad, appreciative, and proud to be a part of the culture where there was respect to the belongings of others. My father saw me smiling big, holding the box. He said with a straight face, “There’s no one who would take that.”

 

Although there are times when things don’t come back in Japan too, the chances of them being returned seem to be much greater than not, whether that be a phone, a wallet, a bag full of cash, you name it. It is what we are taught to do as we grow up here, and it reminded me of the time I found a 1,000 yen bill (= US$10) when I was in the first grade. I found it, told my dad, and we went to the police to file a lost-and-found report.

 

While I was waiting for the phone to be returned, ALL of my friends I told my phone being gone had faith that it would come back. They all had stories like this, some more than once. We are so used to this custom here in Japan, we take it for granted until someone from abroad points it out. I am from here, and would like to recognize the quality our culture shares. And I hope that this good will spread to others (if not already practiced), starting with you and your friends.

Thank you to the staff at Jetstar Airlines who took care of all this, also the lost-and-found staff and police department at Narita Airport who took my calls. You all made my day!

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