So as I was walking home from the konbini I saw what looked like a person standing in front of my house. As I got close I thought maybe I saw wrong and it was a bush. But sure enough it was a person. I just planted some new flowers (I do it so the elderly people have something nice to look at on their walks) and there was an old lady in my outer garden stealing flowers. She doesn’t notice me standing behind her. I asked her “do you like them” and she was startled and asked if this was my home. I replied that it was and she started apologizing. To be honest I was a little angry but I decided to give her grace and let her have them and asked if she wanted some more. She reluctantly said yes but stated she needed a bag. I went inside and grabbed a bag for her and a small trowel and dug out some more. I introduced myself since im new in the neighborhood (lived in a big city before). I snuck a video but I decided against posting it. She is probably lonely and needed some bright flowers to cheer her up. I will buy some more and maybe make a fairy display for the elders.
Edit: thank you for the awards. I wasn’t expecting this post to have so many funny and positive messages. I was sure I would be lectured for being dumb or too nice. I’m hoping this won’t be a regular occurrence although I wouldn’t mind if someone asked first.
32 comments
You were deflowered by an elderly Japanese lady. 😂
I hope it all turns out well and that your kindness is appreciated. Some would have grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and marched her off to the nearest Koban.
I think this will turn out to be a doubly good idea as a foreigner.
Good move.
You are wholesome AF. Kudos.
Wtf where is the passive aggressive bitterness? This is NOT what I come to jlife for. I need to smirk to myself in self-induced smugness, dammit!
All joking aside, you sound like a good person. Thanks for brightening someone’s day!
You are good people!
You made her smile and me too!
That is super kind of you OP. Honestly I’ve been seeing quite a few stories on reddit about people stealing flowers / plants out of people’s yards and it’s wild. What is happening in this world that makes people do that?
Plus.. most people who are into plants and gardening tend to be super nice about it and it seems like a lot of them would give cuttings if asked nicely.
I don’t think I’d have been able to handle the situation as gracefully as you were able to!
Scandalous obaachan.
I see older people collect flowers and twigs from bushes sometimes and put them in ziplock bags. I think they either dry/scrapbook them or use them in something like flower arrangement or decorations.
That’s so kind of you. I’m sure it was annoying to have your nice flowers taken, but I’m sure you made that lady’s day.
Damn. You’re a nice person OP but fuck that. Good thing you got the video in the bank
Inaka life is about dealing with people who have always been here. They have habits and their behaviors might be based on people who lived here long before you. One of my neighbors is 90 or so and her brain is a bit gone, so she tells me stories of all the places she used to walk and loves seeing flowers. I’ve only been her a couple of years and she knows I am new, but she isn’t going to change because of me. I try to encourage her to enjoy her walks and smell the flowers and give her some interesting snacks if I have them on hand.
If you can continue to make that place nice and flowery you can probably make a good ally. It can be difficult living in the countryside and it helps to have an old lady that can plead your case.
This made me happy OP. Thank you.
Looking forward to next week’s installment of what she nicks next
You mean to say that I can steal flowers (just like cheating at schools is normalized)?!
I wanted to pluck cherry blossoms.
There’s this abandoned house in my neighborhood, but with an upkept and flourishing garden. You’re right when it’s something interesting to look at during the walks around the neighborhood.
As for getting more plants instead of spending more money, I’m currently trying to propagate all of my pothos so I can get more long vines growing. I also grab a couple of those random flower seed packs from Daiso when I see them. I think they sell them 3 packs for 110 yen.
If I’m able to keep them alive, I find the lilies are rewarding. Especially the scents when they’re in full bloom. But those cost a bit. I think it may be spider lily planting season soon. Maybe you could get those?
Love it! We bought a house in the suburbs of Osaka a couple of years ago and I have one neighbor in particular who has taken an interest in my modest garden. She is often nosing around and even let herself into my house once lol. I used to get annoyed with her for giving unsolicited advice but after a few encounters we were chatting and it turns out her husband passed away in 2019 and it seems she is very lonely.
I now don’t really mind if she comes to interfere because I know it’s just the need for human interaction. She actually helped me repot some plants recently and gives me good advice on gardening, as it turns out she was born and raised in the inaka! Obaachan are the best and I think they really appreciate the kindness and interaction 💖
Beautiful but ask her not to do it again. She might imply permission to take more
I was working in my office and an old lady snuck into the garden and started picking persimmons off my tree. She even brought her own bag. The she dropped her pants, squatted, and took a pee. Power move.
That’s very kind of you! You get to meet lots of quirky people in the countryside. In my spouse’s hometown there is one house that looks like it is just exploding with flowers because of lots of containers placed at different heights, and it always cheers me just to see it. I hope all your neighbors don’t pick them (then no one can enjoy them anymore), but it was a nice gesture on your part.
You’re a good person, OP.
Nice but be careful. Might be a kleptomaniac
For a moment I thought you confused a small bear or a monkey for a person but I’m glad it’s a nice wholesome story
When I lived in inaka, people were always giving me stuff. I’d come home and find fresh-picked vegetables and entire cooked meals hanging on my doorknob at night.
I mean I get the jokes and I appreciate the wholesomeness but this is not the reaction that most Japanese people would have to be honest
Your sheer existence makes this world a better place. I hope you have a beautiful life ahead, kind stranger.
plant some herbs/ tomatoes/ green onions, let it be a take what you need type deal
It’ll go around. One day you’ll wake up to a bag full of veggies. Before you know it your engaged in constant gifting of veggies. Growing your own to feed into the endless trading.
Haha wow. I live inaka also. I get the local bachans come to hang out in my front yard while I’m gardening sometimes also. They love to chat but I can hardly understand their Japanese.
Where I live old people give me stuff, I feel like you’ve been ripped off.
What a twist! Wasn’t expecting you not to flare up. I would be angry too. If you want to warn her not to do it again but wanna be nice about it (not that you aren’t), maybe let her know that you planted the flowers so that everyone taking a stroll there can enjoy them, and if she wants more you can let her know how you plant them so she can do it at home. Like what the other commenter said, I suspect she might do more next time.
And the audacity of asking for a bag!!!