Lost and Found in Tokyo

Have you ever seen a cell phone which was fallen on the seat of a train or taxi, or an umbrella left leaning against a subway door? These are typical items we tend to leave behind.

One day in June, I went to a hospital in Hiroo for a medical check-up. After I was done with it, I left the medical center to go home. On the way I realized that my silver ring had been lost.  I looked for it in my purse and pocket, but I could not find it. 

The following day the medical center called me to tell that they had found my ring in the locker room.  I rushed off to the hospital hoping I could get my ring back.  It’s a tiny silver ring and someone must have picked it up and returned it to the reception. Yes, I got it back safely.

Relieved to have my ring back, I went to a cafe to celebrate with a cup of coffee. When I returned home however, I realized that my umbrella was missing.  Yes, I left it at the coffee shop.  I rushed back and asked the shop clerk whether he had noticed an ambrella.  He had found my umbrella on the seat and has kindly kept it at the reception.  I was so careless.

My husband laughed at my carelessness that day. The next day he came home earlier than usual.  He said he had lost his mobile phone, probably on the train or at Fujisawa station on the Odakyu line. He was upset and his face turned pale.  The daily stock price data and telephone database were stored in it.  He called the railway station to ask about it, but could not get any information that day.

The next day the Odakyu clerk called him to tell that his mobile phone had been found on the train and was being stored in a safe place at the Odawara Station.  He immediately rushed off to Odawara to get it back.

In the end,  we truly realized that Japanese people are honest enough to hand in anything they find to the police boxes in their neighborhoods and Tokyo is a safer place than any other big city in the world.