3 ms·

Outside many establishments in Japan you will find an umbrella rack full of nearly identical translucent white umbrellas (the style sold for a few hundred yen a

Outside many establishments in Japan you will find an umbrella rack full of nearly identical translucent white umbrellas (the style sold for a few hundred yen at any convenience store). Many of these have been inadvertently left behind, the rain having stopped while the owner was inside. Once I found myself in the reverse situation, sitting in a friend's bar when a downpour started. I asked him if I could take one of the abandoned umbrellas to get home, but he refused, saying they belong to his customers. He agreed that no one would ever come back to claim one, laughing at the absurdity of it, but he couldn't risk being discovered as the bartender who abetted the theft of a misplaced umbrella.

wirthjason 5y ago
Speak the truth! If you have a white handle umbrella it’s a “give a penny, take a penny” situation. Countless times I’ve had a newish one taken and the only one left is some crappy junk that’s rusted out as half the spokes broke. I get it though. They are all similar (even though they are not, some still have the plastic wrap or price tag on the handle). Mistakes are mistakes. What really pisses me off is when you take a nicer one (those clear ones are crap) and it’s totally different from all the other umbrellas and it goes missing. No excusing “sorry I mixed up my clear umbrella with the white handle for your clear umbrella with the white handle”. I hope there’s a social place in hell for those people.
- Aeolun 5y ago
  All my white umbrellas get a blue-red tag stuck to their handle. It serves the double purpose of making them easy to identify for me, and so ‘different’ to other people they wouldn’t want to use it over a plain white one.
kenneth 5y ago
In Hong Kong it's common for bars to always have extra leftover umbrellas that were left behind. As a regular they'd always just give me one if I got caught out in the rain. I've also left umbrellas out countless times. It's all an inadvertent pay it forward scheme

wirthjason 5y ago

Speak the truth! If you have a white handle umbrella it’s a “give a penny, take a penny” situation. Countless times I’ve had a newish one taken and the only one left is some crappy junk that’s rusted out as half the spokes broke. I get it though. They are all similar (even though they are not, some still have the plastic wrap or price tag on the handle). Mistakes are mistakes. What really pisses me off is when you take a nicer one (those clear ones are crap) and it’s totally different from all the other umbrellas and it goes missing. No excusing “sorry I mixed up my clear umbrella with the white handle for your clear umbrella with the white handle”. I hope there’s a social place in hell for those people.

Aeolun 5y ago
All my white umbrellas get a blue-red tag stuck to their handle. It serves the double purpose of making them easy to identify for me, and so ‘different’ to other people they wouldn’t want to use it over a plain white one.

kenneth 5y ago

In Hong Kong it's common for bars to always have extra leftover umbrellas that were left behind. As a regular they'd always just give me one if I got caught out in the rain. I've also left umbrellas out countless times. It's all an inadvertent pay it forward scheme