4 ms·

"Like a lot of Airbnb listings, it was rented as “entire place” rather than “private room,” which meant no host was in residence. But in this case, I’m not sure

"Like a lot of Airbnb listings, it was rented as “entire place” rather than “private room,” which meant no host was in residence. But in this case, I’m not sure any host was ever in residence. The listing was run by some sort of conglomerate or management company, and checking in involved no human interaction whatsoever. To get there, I carried my luggage up a neon-lit hill — past something called Hotel Fifteen Love, past places called Pub Slow Jam, Adult Shop Joyful and Baby Doll and a pet store that sold fluffed-up puppies and kittens and still somehow managed to look seedy — to the concrete apartment building where it was located. The door was unlocked. A key had been left inside. I had no idea where I’d landed." That's wild, is there really such a low expectation of crime over there?

patio11 12y ago
Anecdote: I once left an iPad on top of a table at a McDonalds in the 3rd busiest train station in Japan during rush hour. Realized my mistake and came back 30 minutes later. Neither iPad nor table taken. Sentiment among Japanese folks is that it isn't as good as the old days but objectively speaking if a major US city reported Tokyo's victimization rates they'd be laughed out of the room. "At least lie competently!"
- toomuchtodo 12y ago
  Can you offer any insight based on your experiences in Japan as to why the crime rate is so low?
  - cyorir 12y ago
    One can only speculate, but here are some possible factors : 1) Firearms are not widely available, and must be registered. Violent crime usually involves knives rather than firearms. 2) Japan has little in the way of slums or ghettos. Low-income communities are not as prone to problems with crime. 3) Low availability of drugs. With less reliance on drugs, drug trafficking and associated crimes are less prevalent. 4) Homogenous society. There is little in the way of ethnic tension, with only a few notable minorities. 5) Gang culture. Organized criminal groups like the yakuza are more business oriented than violence oriented. They are more likely to go after the crimes that provide more money, including white collar crimes and crimes like extortion. They also prefer to lay low, avoiding violent activity which would draw the attention of the police and politicians. 6) Police culture. The police only move forward with an investigation if there is enough to go on, leading to a high conviction rate. 7) Low unemployment. Most people who want work have it. Otherwise there are usually enough welfare programs to keep others content and out of trouble.
    - nosuchthing 12y ago
      Kamagasaki has been a place name since 1922. An accurate count of occupants has never been produced, even in the national census, due to the large population of day laborers who lack permanent addresses. It has the largest day laborer concentration in the country. 30,000 people are estimated to live in every 2,000 meter radius in this area, part of which has been in slum-like conditions until as recently as 2012, containing run-down housing structures and untidy streets. The area surrounding Kamagasaki is upscale, clean and attracts tourists with popular sightseeing spots including the Tsutenkaku, Shinsekai, and Nipponbashi. However, in Kamagasaki, homeless people can often be seen sleeping in the streets throughout the day. Many Bōryokudan offices are located in Kamagasaki, and drug and weapons trafficking is thought to occur daily. Illegal gambling stores are often in business in broad daylight. A seemingly endless line of illegally parked cars extends along the national highway just across from the Nishinari police station. The police do not bother issuing tickets knowing that the fines will never be paid. The city government of Osaka does not allow the name "Kamagasaki" to appear on official maps and discourages the use of the name in the media. A film set in the neighborhood by director Shingo Ota which was partially financed by the city, called "Fragile", was pulled from the 2013-2014 Osaka Asian Film Festival after Ota refused to cut scenes from the film that identified the location of the community and referenced certain aspects of its culture. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamagasaki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamagasaki
      - magic_beans 12y ago
        Um... what is the comment referring to?
        CocaKoala 12y ago
        He's pointing out that official statistics on crime in Japan may not accurately reflect reality.
        rmc 12y ago
        And how it sounds like Japan does have slums
wanderingstan 12y ago
A friend of mine told of his experience visiting a small town in Japan. Upon arriving at the train station he asked if there were lockers where he could leave his luggage for the day. "Just set the bag in the floor over there," said the train official, laughing at the ridiculous question. Sure enough, when my friend returned 10 hours later, no one had touched his luggage.
- amit_m 12y ago
  Not just a small town thing. I was really surprised to see plain (unlocked, unguarded) cabinets for storing tourist backpacks at the Tsukiji fish market. This is an extremely busy place in Tokyo, yet it is common to leave your backpack there, unattended.
teraflop 12y ago
It doesn't seem to be abnormal. I visited Tokyo last year and booked a few days' stay on one of these converted apartment-building hotels. I assumed it would be staffed all the time like a hotel in the US, and was pretty surprised when I showed up Saturday evening to find that there was nobody behind the front desk. What I found instead was a little envelope with my name on it, containing a room key and a polite note asking me to check in first thing Monday morning. It was a little surreal.
- ThePhysicist 12y ago
  That's actually quite common in Europe as well, especially in family hotels that can't afford to be staffed 24 hours a day. Also, the risk of someone going in there, taking the card and burglarizing the hotel room are pretty low I'd imagine.
TazeTSchnitzel 12y ago
Yes, in Japan people have great (and justified) faith in the general public, from what I have heard. If you leave something lying around, it probably won't be stolen.

patio11 12y ago

Anecdote: I once left an iPad on top of a table at a McDonalds in the 3rd busiest train station in Japan during rush hour. Realized my mistake and came back 30 minutes later. Neither iPad nor table taken. Sentiment among Japanese folks is that it isn't as good as the old days but objectively speaking if a major US city reported Tokyo's victimization rates they'd be laughed out of the room. "At least lie competently!"

toomuchtodo 12y ago
Can you offer any insight based on your experiences in Japan as to why the crime rate is so low?
- cyorir 12y ago
  One can only speculate, but here are some possible factors : 1) Firearms are not widely available, and must be registered. Violent crime usually involves knives rather than firearms. 2) Japan has little in the way of slums or ghettos. Low-income communities are not as prone to problems with crime. 3) Low availability of drugs. With less reliance on drugs, drug trafficking and associated crimes are less prevalent. 4) Homogenous society. There is little in the way of ethnic tension, with only a few notable minorities. 5) Gang culture. Organized criminal groups like the yakuza are more business oriented than violence oriented. They are more likely to go after the crimes that provide more money, including white collar crimes and crimes like extortion. They also prefer to lay low, avoiding violent activity which would draw the attention of the police and politicians. 6) Police culture. The police only move forward with an investigation if there is enough to go on, leading to a high conviction rate. 7) Low unemployment. Most people who want work have it. Otherwise there are usually enough welfare programs to keep others content and out of trouble.
  - nosuchthing 12y ago
    Kamagasaki has been a place name since 1922. An accurate count of occupants has never been produced, even in the national census, due to the large population of day laborers who lack permanent addresses. It has the largest day laborer concentration in the country. 30,000 people are estimated to live in every 2,000 meter radius in this area, part of which has been in slum-like conditions until as recently as 2012, containing run-down housing structures and untidy streets. The area surrounding Kamagasaki is upscale, clean and attracts tourists with popular sightseeing spots including the Tsutenkaku, Shinsekai, and Nipponbashi. However, in Kamagasaki, homeless people can often be seen sleeping in the streets throughout the day. Many Bōryokudan offices are located in Kamagasaki, and drug and weapons trafficking is thought to occur daily. Illegal gambling stores are often in business in broad daylight. A seemingly endless line of illegally parked cars extends along the national highway just across from the Nishinari police station. The police do not bother issuing tickets knowing that the fines will never be paid. The city government of Osaka does not allow the name "Kamagasaki" to appear on official maps and discourages the use of the name in the media. A film set in the neighborhood by director Shingo Ota which was partially financed by the city, called "Fragile", was pulled from the 2013-2014 Osaka Asian Film Festival after Ota refused to cut scenes from the film that identified the location of the community and referenced certain aspects of its culture. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamagasaki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamagasaki
    - magic_beans 12y ago
      Um... what is the comment referring to?
      - CocaKoala 12y ago
        He's pointing out that official statistics on crime in Japan may not accurately reflect reality.
        rmc 12y ago
        And how it sounds like Japan does have slums

wanderingstan 12y ago

A friend of mine told of his experience visiting a small town in Japan. Upon arriving at the train station he asked if there were lockers where he could leave his luggage for the day. "Just set the bag in the floor over there," said the train official, laughing at the ridiculous question. Sure enough, when my friend returned 10 hours later, no one had touched his luggage.

amit_m 12y ago
Not just a small town thing. I was really surprised to see plain (unlocked, unguarded) cabinets for storing tourist backpacks at the Tsukiji fish market. This is an extremely busy place in Tokyo, yet it is common to leave your backpack there, unattended.

teraflop 12y ago

It doesn't seem to be abnormal. I visited Tokyo last year and booked a few days' stay on one of these converted apartment-building hotels. I assumed it would be staffed all the time like a hotel in the US, and was pretty surprised when I showed up Saturday evening to find that there was nobody behind the front desk. What I found instead was a little envelope with my name on it, containing a room key and a polite note asking me to check in first thing Monday morning. It was a little surreal.

ThePhysicist 12y ago
That's actually quite common in Europe as well, especially in family hotels that can't afford to be staffed 24 hours a day. Also, the risk of someone going in there, taking the card and burglarizing the hotel room are pretty low I'd imagine.

TazeTSchnitzel 12y ago

Yes, in Japan people have great (and justified) faith in the general public, from what I have heard. If you leave something lying around, it probably won't be stolen.