I’ll try to keep it as short as possible. I lost my bag around noon on the 24th with all my ID, money and phone. I had a flight back to DK the next day, so had to go through a lot to get to the embassy and get an emergency passport and get to the airport. I just got back to my home city safely and would like to do something asap.
I have little hope that I will be contacted if the bag is found. But I just checked Find My iPhone, and see it was detected about 34h ago, about 26h after it was lost, in the middle of Yotsuya Police Station in Shinjuku. How do i get in contact with them and arrange to get it back, if possible?
Here’s what happened:
1. 12:30, 24/07 Left my purse in a bathroom in Isetan Shinjuku, turned around 30 seconds after exiting the bathroom but it was already gone.
2. I assumed someone had brought it to the info desk and went there (I’ve been spoiled rotten by the good manners of Japanese people). They had not received anything and I spent the rest of the day being helped by the Isetan staff in reporting it with them and explaining the incident to officers at the Oiwake koban. However no report was made, they just took notes.
3. Cue 7 hours freaking out trying to get hold of embassy, insurance and parents, running around by paper maps and memory. I had no money and no access to international phone. Managed to put Isetan staff, hotel staff, and koban in contact with each other and was assured that the hotel would be informed if the bag was found. Kinda confused bc no police report, but didn’t press because hotel staff already did so much and I was exhausted and starving.
4. Go to koban next day, officer confused why I hadn’t made a report yesterday but also did not offer to let me report it now. My Japanese is barely conversational so I had to give up and head to embassy.
5. Got to embassy, spent 4 hours there getting passport and new plane tickets.
6. Had to go to airport and go home.
21 comments
I would like to add that I know there are many things I could have done better, and I knew as everything was happening as well but I was stretched thin.
I had very little to eat the day of the incident, and no food on the day of departure until 9pm. I slept very little on the night of the incident because I had no alarm clock and was so anxious. My Japanese is really bad.
I know what would have been the correct order of actions and am not looking for advice on that, I just had to tell the story so it’s easier for anyone to understand what happened if you’d like to advice on what i can do /now/.
I’d also like to say I am so so so grateful for the Isetan staff who did so much to help, including making many calls, going to the koban with me, letting me make an international call on their phone, and even taking me to a konbini to buy me some dinner and give me some cash, which ended up being the reason I could make it to the airport at all. I seriously have no idea what I would have done without them. I will be writing a very long thank you letter and hopefully I can get it through to the women who helped me so much.
Also the hotel staff, police officers, a couple of librarians, tourist info, strangers on the train, and an airport clerk who bought me an ice cream despite be trying to refuse. Even though it was a horrible horrible two days, I was saved by strangers and it only reminds me why I like Japan so much and that the world is mostly good.
You can try convincing a kind stranger on the japanliving (japanlife?) subreddit to retrieve your items, and ship it over to you.
Damn man that sounds tough. Glad things are slowly coming back together. You could try emailing the hotel or emailing the police office. Maybe there’s a task rabbit like service in Japan you can look for. Good luck
This is worthy of hiring a translator and have them call with you on the line to see what can be done.
This is a bit convoluted but this *could* be possible if you did not want to go the trust a stranger route. There are proxy mailbox companies which will give you a mailing address in Japan. They will receive items for you and fwd them to your home country via FedEx and DHL.
It’s way more convenient for Japan staff to ship to a Japanese address. I think you would have a decent shot of that happening. Hopefully the translator can see if that is an option for you.
If you want a recommendation for a good proxy mailbox company, DM me. It’s typically free to get the address / PO box..
If you have to rely on the kindness of reddit strangers, I’ll be in Tokyo for a month in September and could retrieve it for you as well.
Even if you get someone to help, I’m just wondering how it will be possible to convince the police to release the bag to them?
Mildly related Ffr, I threw AirTags in bags this last trip to Japan and it was great. I thought it kinda silly when people mentioned it, but all the trains and subways and bag forwarding and planes… was pretty great to know where my bags were.
Two ways that I can think of : Call the Japanese Embasy in DK. Explain the situation and see how they can help.
If taht doesnt work call the DK embasy in Japan. You can give an employye power of attourney to pick up your stuff. Emabsy employees would be more trustworthy than a stranger.
Ill be going to japan in Oktober, I could help then.
Would be good to know where you live in case a reddit stranger from your area reads this, who is traveling.
Wow, thanks for sharing your story
I’m in Tokyo now and fly to back to USA (California) if that helps gets it closer to you… (not sure where you are located)
I have nothing to offer other than being really happy you’re back home. Your story stressed me out. Just walking down the street to a 7/11 without my pocket wifi had me anxious, cannot imagine your situation!!
You buy it back on eBay of course.
If you know a guy living in Kyoto, ask him to contact the police in Tokyo. The police may ship your lost items to his places and he’s able to ship them to your country.
It’s not free to call a police(specific phone number, not the official emergency phone number), so it’s nice to return the favour.
My acquaintance lost his passport and wallet(credit cards and cash cards as well). I called all the police offices located among the places he had visited since he lost them on his way. His lost items were found and sent to my place and I gave them back to him.
It happened many years ago. It’s getting more and more strict to treat personal info and belongings these days, it might be not possible but worth trying in my opinion.
tough luck, shinjuku is gotham city of japan with 3 millions stranger from everywhere come and go daily.
If your phone is stationed in Yotsuya police, the only thing you can do now is called your friend you know in Japan tell him to come up to Yotsuya to pick it up. He has to show to the police a picture of you and him to prove he has connection to be able to receive it.
You don’t tell stranger on reddit to go raid the police box
I have a good friend who lives in Yotsuya, is there any way we could arrange for him to pick it up?
Alternately idk how long they hold onto things, but I’ll be there in October and would be happy to check.
I’m not sure what they’d need to release it to someone who isn’t the owner though.
The logical way imho is to contact a relevant local government agency in your country. Alternatively, you could try to contact your country’s consular office in Tokyo and explain to them what happened.
I reckon it would be more straight forward and legit for them to contact the police station and retrieve the items instead. It would seems more likely the police would hand the items over to an official compared to getting a random stranger to help.
I’m not sure if there are rules governing how your lost passport and wallet can be “shipped” to you too, cos I’m sure the postal service does not allow cash to be sent by mail. So getting consular help and getting them to ship the items to you via their channel would seems most appropriate.
Hey I can contact to them if you want!
Im happy to help.I’m heading to Shinjuku rn. And will be flying home to Slagelse the weekend. Let me know if I can help.
Hi, im travelling from Kyoto to Tokyo this Saturday. I’m from the UK (still the EU I guess!) if I can provide any help feel free to message me. My Japanese is not great as a disclaimer but hopefully can provide any assistance. Happy to FaceTime or anything similar beforehand/during to give you some peace of mind too. Good luck and hope this gets sorted out
Hello!
I’m Japanese,I’m living in Shinjuku.
I want to help you.
If you’re not figure out this problem yet,Do I ask police about your lost item?
If police had your lost item,I receive it instead you and sent your home by international mail.