Many travellers who mislay items such as cash, passports, phones and cameras in most parts of the world never dream that they’ll be reunited with their lost belongings.
However, if you’ve lost something in Japan, you’ve got a high chance of getting it back thanks to the honesty of Japanese people and the country’s highly efficient Lost and Found system.
In Tokyo, lost money reported by the police in the past years is at least 30 million US dollars per year. Amazingly, more than 70% of the lost money gets returned to its owner.
This surprisingly honest behaviour of returning cash or something valuable extends beyond Tokyo.
When Tiffy Cu, a seasoned traveller and blogger of Asia Travel Bug, reported that she had lost her Suica pre-paid commute card, the Lost and Found staff at Shin-Osaka Station tried really hard to locate it. Tiffy recalled her bullet train journey to the station, but checks by the transport staff drew a blank.
However, when the Lost and Found staff contacted Okayama Station where Tiffy had departed from earlier that day, the Suica pre-paid commute card was located within an hour after being handed in by a fellow train passenger.
This is a remarkable testament to the kindness and honesty of the people of Japan who could have easily used the pre-paid commute card for transportation or to purchase items from nearby convenience stores.
Asia Travel Bug blogger Tiffy said “I have visited Japan several times since it’s my favorite travel destination. Japan is blessed with so many beautiful natural sceneries, is very clean and is very safe. I adore the country and its people, but never expected this level of honesty when I discovered my Suica pre-paid commute card to be missing.
Having travelled extensively all over the world, I’ve never encountered anything like this before and have lost items never to see them again, but this extraordinary act of honesty just reinforces my love of Japan, and I’ll continue to use the country as inspiration for my blog.”
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