Lost : black coat (last seen in upper rack in mita line train).

[vitellus]

So I forgot my coat in the subway last week (mita line). Any hope of getting this one back? I was convinced that yes. However after a couple of visits and phone calls to the Lost and Found all I'm getting as a reply is "nai" so I'm not so sure anymore.

So has anybody had any experience with this? any advice on how to proceed further?

Oh, and just to get it over with : yes I'm a big dumbass I fully acknowledge it so no need to go there (and the guy at the lost and found already told me so).

[GuyJean]

So I forgot my coat in the subway last week (mita line). Any hope of getting this one back?

I think it depends on how long after it's missing you contact Lost and Found; When last week?

I left my bag on the train but immediately went to the station dude and told him. He phoned the destination of the train, and it was still there..

If you know the time and destination of the train, it may help.. It also might help if you go to any station on the Mita line in person; I'm not sure if they're as helpful on the phone.

Good ruck!

GJ

[vitellus]

what happended was that I going to Meguro last wednesday. I got in at Jimbocho, placed the coat in the upper rack and started reading. At Shirokana-takanawa, you had to unexpectedely switch trains. It was at that point I left the coat behind. I immediately went to the lost and found and told them the approx time the train had arrived into the station and description of the coat. They told me to sit down while they made a couple of phone calls. As this didn't produce any results they asked me to call again in 2 hours. I did so but the answer was still nai. They told me to call Ueno station the next day. In the evening I asked at the lost and found of mita station but hadn't found anything. Called Ueno in the morning but still no luck. Just wondering what my next move should be. Probably should ask some japanese friend to assist me at this point, I guess...

[GuyJean]

Hhhmm.. You've done everything I would've.. Sounds like someone's walked off with your coat.. Probably a gaijin.

GJ

[Mulboyne]

I agree with GJ. If it had still been on the rack then you should have heard something by now based on what you seem to have done. If you aren't sure of your Japanese then by all means get someone to double check but this may just be a case of bad luck given that this country has a high rate of return for lost items.

The law actually requires a finder of a lost item to turn it in to the police (interesting book on the subject here) so, in the unlikely event that someone went to the trouble of doing that rather than handing it in the station staff, you could make a report to them and see if it turned up. If you have insurance then you'll need to do that anyway.

[vitellus]

[quote="GuyJean"]Hhhmm.. You've done everything I would've.. Sounds like someone's walked off with your coat.. Probably a gaijin. ]

damn if that's the case, that will be the second coat I've had nicked by a gaijin in 6 weeks. I left the first one (goretex coat I use for hiking) in the lobby of the backpackers hotel I was staying at when I first arrived here (did I already mention I was a dumbass?).

Yeah I guess I'll ask a japanese friend to call sometime because the only word I really understand when they speak to me is "nai". They say a whole of other stuff which I just say "hai" to.

Btw, does picking up "forgotten" comic books in the train upper racks count as stealing? because I do that a lot...

[Buraku]

Don't listen to any of the old farts

the japanese don't hand stuff up no more, they used to back in the 80s when they were a 'rich nation' but since the 90s random acts of violence are more common, serial killers like Tsutomu Miyazaki prowl on youngsters, the economy has been stagnant and youth crime has skyrocketed

[vitellus]

hmmm, well that's what a non japanese friend who has lived here for 11 years told me. I was pretty sure I would find it at the lost and found but she told me that it was as good as gone, and most likely taken by a japanese.

Actually the train I left the coat in was completely empty - they got everybody out because I guess that Shirokana-takanawa is some kind of midway ending point. If they check the train at that point for forgotten items is anyone's guess (this was about 4pm).

[Captain Japan]

It also results in policemen spending considerable time writing reports about lost umbrellas, a fact that led one New York City assistant district attorney West interviewed to comment, ``The Japanese are [expletive deleted] insane.''

That was from the Mulboyne reference. It's a pretty good quote.

[Mulboyne]

Don't listen to any of the old farts

the japanese don't hand stuff up no more, they used to back in the 80s when they were a 'rich nation' but since the 90s random acts of violence are more common, serial killers like Tsutomu Miyazaki prowl on youngsters, the economy has been stagnant and youth crime has skyrocketed

Congratulations. If you'd only gone on to blame foreigners as well for the increase in crime then you would have swallowed the National Police Agency party line 100%. The most striking trend is the increase in unsolved crimes. This is now below 50% for serious crimes and the overall rate is below 20%. Together with the "slush fund" scandals, that means the police are held in low esteem these days. To counter that, they have been scaremongering. Youth crime skyrocketing? Actually, its crime by the aged that has been increasing but that doesn't frighten people so much. There's no evidence that serial killers are any more numerous now that at any other period post war but the media is certainly more interested in them. Between 1998 and 2002, robbery increased 104%, car theft 75%, and burglary 42% but the police stand a better chance of getting more money and arrest powers if they hint at the breakdown of society and an increase in "random violence". A rising crime rate should not be ignored but it is still worth noting that it remains very low.

If you buy into the police argument, then it's easy to see why you might extrapolate that a decline in honesty means there is less willingness to turn in private property. The number of items handed in has been increasing, however, (10.7 million against 7.4 million reported lost in 2004) to the point that the government has passed legislation to reduce the burden on lost property centres. Items will now only be stored for three months instead of six and police will be permitted to sell low value items to offset against the cost of storage.

The book I mentioned above deals with the legal rather than the cultural reasons for Japan's "honesty" in dealing with lost property. Anyone who fails to hand in lost property is committing a crime while if you do find something and hand it in, you are entitled to a reward if it is claimed, or the item itself if it is not. Some have argued that the prospect of a reward has led to more items being handed in a weaker economy but it is difficult to know what data to use to prove that. Also, just as it was claimed that during the bubble people couldn't be bothered to claim lost items and bought a replacement instead, you could make a case that smaller paypackets mean people are more eager to get them back.

Anecdotal evidence is not a reliable guide. On different occasions, I've lost a coat, bag and camera in Tokyo and not seen them again. I've lost a wallet twice in Britain and got it back both times. The recovery rate in Japan is still substantially higher than Britain no matter what my personal experience may be.

[Buraku]

J-crime by the young folk has skyrocketed,
http://www.jref.com/forum/showthread.php?t=58
http://vision.york.ac.uk/articles/130/features/423111.shtml
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/06/02/japan.stab.reut/index.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1377781.stm
but of course the japanophiles will argue otherwise

Homeless people are kicked to death by gutless youth gangs and Japan has endured an unprecedented rise in teenage crime and violence. Since 1997, when the severed head of an 11-year-old boy was found outside the gates of a junior high school

[Mulboyne]

Buraku, the question isn't whether the juvenile crime rate has gone up. It would be surprising if it hadn't given the overall increase in crime (even adjusting for a smaller youth demographic). The question is whether it is the driving factor (along with the serial killers and perpetrators of random violence you mention). Critics of the police - you have been one yourself - point to the larger increases in other age groups. I don't think you'll find many Japanophiles among their number.

[Greji]

Don't listen to any of the old farts

the japanese don't hand stuff up no more, they used to back in the 80s when they were a 'rich nation' but since the 90s random acts of violence are more common, serial killers like Tsutomu Miyazaki prowl on youngsters, the economy has been stagnant and youth crime has skyrocketed

Buraku, were you around when Miyazaki was on the streets? He did not "prowl" on youngsters. He just killed them and in at least one case, ate parts of them.

I am an old fart that had kids of the target age at that time and worse than that lived near where Miyazaki did. I can tell you a lot about that case, him and the area.

How do you know about it? Were you in Japan then? Doesn't that make you an old fart, or nearing the class? If you were not here and are regurgatating shit from the web, you might want to note it is not accurate.

But than again, I am an old fart that don't know nothing. Hey, since the younger people know everything, where is Virtellus's coat. Do you think a serial killer got it? Was the dog involved? Will the roaring rise of youth crime having a lasting effect on lost and found stations on the Mita line? Waiting with anticipation for your answer, or than again, I may go take a shit!

[vitellus]

this is indeed really fascinating. If only I could figure out how all this will help me get my coat back...

[Greji]

this is indeed really fascinating. If only I could figure out how all this will help me get my coat back...

I already sold it to Buraku for the dog!

Actually, about all you can do has been said. If you check the lost and found at the station you got off at, at the terminal for that particular train (which they can tell you at the eki) and file a report on the coat and its description. Sometimes, it may not show up for a day or so, but when it goes to one of the lost and founds for that line. I don't remember what the time frame is (I think 2-3 days to a week), but then they must turn it over to the police, who will again hold it for a like time frame. I forget that also, but it is then forwarded to one of their centers to be held for one year. I had to go to one in Itabashi to get a bag that I left on the Keio line after a night of pubing. I was able to trace it down by calling all the stops after mine and checking and found one like it had been sent to the PS and when I got around to checking there it had been forwarded to the repository. I luckily able to go there and identify it. It was hard to recognize as it had my name and address on an id tag in Japanese and English.

I wouldn't give it up as a lost cause, but good luck

[vitellus]

Ok thanks that's the most interesting information I got so far (general statistics about crime in Japan are also interesting but here we are dealing here with a very low scale local event that may not even be crime related).

So what would be the lost and found center for the Mita line? i guess I'll have to ask that in one of the Mita line ekis. However they kept on telling me to call Ueno eki - maybe that the general lost and found for all Toei lines??

Also if the item is forwarded to the police, where should I go then? I know there is a police lost and found near suidobashi but I guess there must be several of these, right?

Finally the obvious question, is there anything more known about these "centers"? where did you go for your bag?

[kamome]

Ok thanks that's the most interesting information I got so far (general statistics about crime in Japan are also interesting but here we are dealing here with a very low scale local event that may not even be crime related).

Better get used to it. Staying on-topic is merely a casual rule of thumb on FG (which is what keeps the threads lively and engaging...and full of dog pictures! )

[Charles]

Better get used to it. Staying on-topic is merely a casual rule of thumb on FG (which is what keeps the threads lively and engaging...and full of dog pictures! )

Because everyone loves topic drift... and dog pics.

[Greji]

Finally the obvious question, is there anything more known about these "centers"? where did you go for your bag?

You need to write down the time of the train you were on and about when you got off. That is so not to forget, because they will ask you that everytime you say "hi". I would go to that station and try to verify where the train was going. Then check the destination lost and found. Also, you may want to check the police station that services the terminal eki and also the lost and found at the next station from where you got off as some people may have noticed you left it and turned it in right away. This actually happens in Japan. At any rate, ask the same questions about the lost and found centers at each stop you are checking, because you will probably get different answers.

I think the police place was in Idabashi which is probably the one you are thinking of because it is one stop from Suidobashi, but it's been so long I'm not sure. But I think the will retain it at the eki for a couple of days before sending it to the nearest police station. The police station will retain it for a while, I think about a week and then send it to the center.

Better get used to it. Staying on-topic is merely a casual rule of thumb on FG (which is what keeps the threads lively and engaging...and full of dog pictures! )

Hey that's a boss dog. Any dog that likes to hump J-people has got it going on, although I do prefer the opposite sex!

[Greji]

Because everyone loves topic drift... and dog pics.

Most be a union dog. Stops everything for lunch!

[Speed]

People in Japan still turn things in.

Dropped my commuter pass with about a months worth of usage left on it. (Apx 10,000 yen worth).

Went to my station and someone had turned it in that day.


Sometimes they don`t turn things in.
Left a box of sweets (souvenir for a friend) on a train and was never found.

Relative to most other countries that I`ve been to, people do turn in lost items quite often.


The original poster did all the right things and followed the instructions of the station attendants. The jacket`s gone.

[FG Lurker]

Yes, people here still turn things in.

Last year I left a shopping bag with an omiage present in it near the ticket machines at kansai airport. The present (unwrapped and easily visible inside the shopping bag) was worth about 50,000yen and it was turned in.

Going back a bit I dropped my wallet in a taxi in 1996 and the driver tracked me down and gave it back, complete with my 70,000yen rent money.

I can't imagine ever seeing either item again in any other country.

[Greji]

The original poster did all the right things and followed the instructions of the station attendants. The jacket`s gone.

You never know. I think he still needs to check back with the various lost and founds. It is such an immense system, you never know where the stuff will show up.

Ya need to think positive (of course that will just piss you off more when it doesn't show up!)

[Mike Oxlong]

Isn't there some sort of reward system in place for returning lost items (at least for turning in lost cash to a koban)?

[Greji]

Isn't there some sort of reward system in place for returning lost items (at least for turning in lost cash to a koban)?

If you lose something and it is returned through the koban (and technically, anyway you get it back), you give 10 percent of the value to the person who turned it in. Then again, with inflation it could be 90% now!

[vitellus]

hey, I know somebody just like that dog!!




...darn, got me off topic as well

[Buraku]

Because everyone loves topic drift... and dog pics.

Mutt versus Porcupine




who will win ?



...


What happens when a pitbull picks a fight with a porcupine?

Dogs apparently have the kamikaze spirit and do not know when to quit when encountering the porcupine.

http://www.katu.com/news/story.asp?ID=78584
http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/porcupinedog.asp

[drpepper]

For what it is worth that is not a pitbull but rather a bullterrier very different dog, see the barf hounds above for pit bulls..