7 ms·
On the other hand, the Japanese are inveterate umbrella thieves. So much so that you will find locking umbrella racks in many buildings. The pressure has to go
by jyounker 7y ago
On the other hand, the Japanese are inveterate umbrella thieves. So much so that you will find locking umbrella racks in many buildings.
The pressure has to go somewhere.
- tareqak 7y agoWhy umbrellas specifically? I read the article and I enjoyed it, but the question of why umbrellas are not treated the same in terms of being returned was mentioned but not answered. Near the end of the article, there is this sentence > “Communal property is virtually unheard of except for that many people seem to regard umbrellas as up for grabs if not properly secured.”
- kstenerud 7y agoBecause when the rain comes down, it COMES DOWN HARD, and you NEED an umbrella NOW. I started doing the same after living there a few years. Same thing with stealing crappy bikes with flat tires from the nearest bike rack to get home when you're drunk as a skunk at 3 am.
- novok 7y agoYou can buy them everywhere for 300-1000 yen, those models are the ones that everyone uses so it isn't much of a sacrifice for everyone to buy another umbrella a few times a year.
- rtpg 7y agoan even more basic answer is that these super cheap umbrellas that everyone buys all look kinda the same, so it's hard to track your own umbrella unless you put some sort of sticker on it. So it's not even necessarily a concious system, just the end result of easily being confused between umbrellas.
- numpad0 7y agoYeah, everyone has a moment when they notice a wrong umbrella in their hand. Could happen immediately upon pickup or could happen later. From there your view branches into the direction of either communal property idea or an internal shame/rage/regrets. So far I consider mine a personal property.
- the_af 7y agoIs this for fancy umbrellas or any umbrella? I once lost a cheap plastic umbrella while visiting a castle, which I left for a minute to take a photo and it was gone, and I always assumed another tourist took it by mistake.
- Reedx 7y agoThe article hits on this, suggesting that they are viewed as communal property since they're so abundant, cheap and frequently forgotten. Umbrellas are also an on demand item, so can see how this could evolve as a sort of community solution to the rain problem.
- yboris 7y agoI visited Japan and was caught in the rain with no umbrella. I hid next to an awning near a school. A person came out from inside and offered me to take an umbrella from the numerous ones that were left by the people inside. I suspect "communal property" is a better way to think of what happens with umbrellas than "umbrella thieves".
- ultrasaurus 7y agoI was in Japan last week and I can confirm that I forgot every umbrella I used -- I hope you got one of mine.
- darkerside 7y agoMy family of 5 was caught walking back to our AirBNB in pouring rain during a trip to Tokyo. A man ran out of a FamilyMart (think 7-11), chased us down, and handed us umbrellas for the entire family. My first thought was, how nice of this gentleman to do this for complete strangers. My second thought, how cheap am I for not walking my family in the store to buy the damn umbrellas myself?!
- irrational 7y agoWhat is the rain problem? I live in the Pacific Northwest where it rains for 9 months out of the year. Our solution is to not use umbrellas at all. Everyone has a waterproof rain jacket.
- catalogia 7y agoIn Seattle where it rains frequently but lightly, you really don't need an umbrella. But in places where it rains hard, umbrellas become a lot more desirable. A waterproof rain jacket won't help much in a torrential downpour. Maybe with a waterproof wide-brimmed hat as well, but chances are you'll still get drenched without an umbrella. To put some numbers on it for perspective: Seattle is infamous for rain, but only averages 38 inches of rain per year. Miami, which is known for sunny beaches, averages 62 inches of rain per year. Tokyo gets 60 inches.
- atom-morgan 7y agoThat's interesting because when I visited I went to an onsen and my umbrella didn't fit the lock system. Then I thought, "What do I have to worry about? I'm in Japan. Nobody will steal it." 3 hours later and it was still there waiting for me.
- hutzlibu 7y agoProbably because it was not raining?
- atom-morgan 7y agoI only had mine with me because it was raining.
- kenhwang 7y agoThey're pretty much communal when I visited Tokyo/Kyoto. Pretty much always left the building with a different umbrella than I entered with. Just about everyone uses the same $5-10 black/gray/white/clear umbrella. They all go into the umbrella bucket when you enter a building. Everyone just grabs one on their way out that's close enough to the same as the one the dropped in. Sometimes you leave a building and it's not raining anymore and people forget their umbrella behind. People even just leave them behind before getting on the train and take one from the stop where they get off.
- BurningFrog 7y agoNote that for this to work, people have to only take the umbrella you need. Not grab all of them and sell. BTW: I'm really glad to hear this, because I've been having some regrets about grabbing random umbrellas in Tokyo, because everyone seemed to do it. Glad I did it right after all!
- Polylactic_acid 7y agoI can't even imagine the effort of stealing the office umbrellas and selling them being worth it.
- ben0x539 7y agoYeah, right? Who would buy them when you can just grab free umbrellas at every office?
- BurningFrog 7y agoStill, I'd expect this system to break down in most non-Japan places because of things like this.
- Aeolun 7y agoOnly grab an umbrella if you also deposited one! There’s nothing more annoying than to come out of a store and find all umbrellas gone.
- 7y ago
- dredmorbius 7y agoThere are other negative outlets. Evan Hadfield's "Rare Earth" has covered a couple of these: - Japan's criminal justice system: https://invidio.us/watch?v=IRn4xzaugbk https://invidio.us/watch?v=IRn4xzaugbk - Japan's untouchables: https://invidio.us/watch?v=SIsndKkasfI https://invidio.us/watch?v=SIsndKkasfI (There are of course positive elements, and Hadfield has covered those as well.)
- ekianjo 7y agoUmbrellas are super cheap and readily available when you need one though.
- dreamcompiler 7y agoI noticed this the last time I was in Tokyo. This is a place where if a stranger saw me drop cash on the sidewalk, they would hunt me down to return it. So what's the deal with all the umbrella locks? TFA explains it.
- rnotaro 7y agoI accidentally dropped many Yens coins in Tokyo last week and multiple individuals rushed to help me. I was literally shocked. I also forgot my wallet with my passport beside an arcade game in Akihabara and someone found me inside the arcade to give it back to me before I even noticed it was lost. Un-locked bikes, products outside of shops, etc. Their "Trust" system is incredible. It would never work here in Canada. I really enjoyed my 3 weeks in Japan.
- bamboozled 7y agoIt’s because almost everyone uses the same umbrellas (cheap from a convenience store). Ive never had any other type taken. It’s hard to tell which one is yours and it basically becomes an umbrella share pool. No big deal. I’ve also had cases where I was caught in the rain and people tried to give me their umbrella.
- thrower123 7y agoThis brings back strong memories from college. Everyone had black Northface zip-up jackets, so when you would go to a frat party, there would be a giant pile of jackets laid on the couches in the common room. At the end of the night, it was a crapshoot whether drunken party-goers actually found their jacket, or one of the dozens of identical ones. The next afternoon, there would inevitably be a cascade of campus-wide emails asking for the return of jackets containing wallets/ids/keys. The thrift shops did a strong business in supplying the most garish and distinctive "frackets" to combat this problem.
- bschwindHN 7y agoThe hack here is to put distinctive stickers or something on them so anyone picking it up knows it's definitely not theirs. I've had the same umbrella in Japan for 4 years.
- bamboozled 7y agoI really can't believe you've had a Konbini store umbrella for 4 years. They're really not that well made?
- bschwindHN 7y agoYeah it's not holding up too well but it still keeps the rain off me!
- irq11 7y agoUmbrellas are less like physical items and more like Higgs fields in Japan. They exist as a probabilistic continuum, and materialize when you need them. Said another way: let go of the notion of “your” umbrella, and just accept that when you do occasionally purchase one, you’re inserting an umbrella into a broader system. I’ve had people come running out of their houses to hand me umbrellas on a rainy day; they really are a social good.
- threwr324234 7y agoYeah.. I'd be wary of cooking up these cliched stories like the BBC. I remember being losing my cheap umbrella at the store. A woman who was happened to be coming out, upon seeing my predicament and on the rain pouring down, handed me some random umbrella from the bucket (or whatever that thing is called). I refused. So she proceeded to give me hers and then she took one from the bucket. Umbrella's are really communal possessions in Japan. May be its a good thing, may be bad. However, this kind of silly reporting and patronizing 'cultural deconstruction' is really annoying to those of us in Asia who've subject to this for centuries on end.