Hello friends, family, and those of you who may be reading
this. Prepare for a somewhat long, rant-like post including not well thought
out statements and no pictures. This post is a way for me to vent and try to
relieve some stress because usually writing helps when I’m upset. So feel free
to stop reading or just bear with me. You’ve been warned haha!
Going back to my “Crime in Japan” post, I have already gone
in to detail about some of the things either my friends or I’ve personally
experienced while living in Japan. If you are interested, please go back and
read that post (it’s actually one of my most popular ones), but I will also
recap some of it in this post.
Well today, I have
more to tell you. First, to the next person who tells me, “Japan is SOOOOOOO
safe,” I want to literally punch you square in the face and tell you to pull your
head out of your ass! I’ll admit, that I’ve been a little out of the loop with
news lately, but I used to read it a lot, and I’ve picked it up again and am
always shocked at the disgusting and horrifying crimes I read about EVERY DAY
in this country. Today I woke up, and while blow-drying my hair, I read an
article how they just arrested a man who is responsible for drugging and raping
over 100 WOMEN!!!! SERIOUSLY WTF?!?! I’m not saying that there’s not bad news
every day in other places. I’m just trying to say that Japan is no exception.
Often, I feel like the crimes here are more weird and disturbing though if I’m
being honest.
I have lived in America 22 years, and sure, I’ve seen some
bad things like a drunk guy threatening my boyfriend at the time and I on a bus
for no reason or a guy snatching a cell phone out of a girl’s pocket and
running away, but that’s about it. I have never been involved in a situation
where I’ve needed to go to the police. Well, in two and a half years of living
in Japan, I’ve been to the police THREE freaking times! That’s not including
things I didn’t go to the police for that I probably should have. Like how I
told you in my “Crime in Japan” post about getting felt up in trains, bars, and
clubs or when my friends got robbed or had creeps expose their genitals to
them.
The first time I went to the police was when I had a
stalker. Scary stuff. The second time was when a guy went crazy at my local bar
and attacked me, my friend, and the bartender (please see my post “My Night at
the Police Station”). Now for number three which happened about two weeks ago…long
story short, I can join the ranks of my friends who have also gotten their
wallet stolen.
I know I have always been an advocate of using lockers at
dance clubs and “better to be safe than sorry” and so on, and I still am. It’s
just kind of ironic because the one freaking time I decided not to use a
locker, I get robbed. Let me tell you why I decided not to use a locker.
Usually I am carrying a purse. It’s annoying to dance with a purse, and I feel
like it would be easier for someone to steal a wallet out from a purse than
say, a backpack because they could just kind of slide their hand in there and
pull it out without anything moving or you noticing. If your bag is zipped up,
it might be noticeable because you might feel them unzipping it though. So that’s
why I lock up my purse. This time, I
had a small backpack. I thought to myself, “I can dance with a backpack, and if
someone unzips it or tries to put their hands in it, I’d definitely feel it
tugging at my shoulders. Well, I was wrong.
One thing that keeps pissing me off is that when I tell a
Japanese person I was robbed, a lot of them will say at first, “We’re you
drinking?” Like if I was drinking then it’s my fault. I don’t know how to
respond because, ya, I had been drinking before I went to the club, but was I
super drunk or wasted? No. I found that
my foreign friends give me more sympathy and tell me it’s not my fault while
Japanese blame me more (not all, but some). Some of them even assumed it was
another foreigner that robbed me because there’s no way it could have been a
Japanese person. They met me with blank faces when I told them that besides me
there were only two other foreigners in the club of a few hundred people. I
admit that I could have been safer by locking my bag up, but I still don’t
think it was my fault. It’s not like I had a sign on me that said “rob me.”
So basically what happened was I went to a club I’ve been to
like 20 times before with my friend. I had my wallet when I walked in. I showed
my ID, put my wallet back into my backpack, zipped it up, and danced away. An
hour or so later when I decided to take a break and get some gum out of my bag,
I noticed that it was half open. I nervously put my hand inside, and was not
surprised to find that my wallet was gone. Instead of panicking, I immediately
told the staff. They said I could check up front to see if it was found, which
I did. They hadn’t found it. I searched the floor with my phone flashlight,
waited until the club closed, checked the floor again, asked the staff if they
found it several times, and left them with my name and phone number. I also
emailed and called them the next day. They told me they didn’t find it. I also
called my mother right after it happened so she could stop my debit card for
me. Luckily I didn’t have much money in my wallet (maybe $30 or $40…although
I’m poor and that’s a lot to me, it could’ve been a lot worse). It was all my important cards and stuff I was
worried about.
The following Monday I had my supervisor help me notify the
bank to stop my cash card and begin the process for making a new bank book and cash
card which cost a little over $20. He also helped me go report the theft to the
police and had the BOE give me a temporary health insurance form while my new insurance
card was being made. He was such a big help! However, I still was unable to
access my bank account in any way, and I couldn’t even begin to get a new
residence card (the most important card that I am legally supposed to have on
me at all times) until I got an official police report which took about 7
business days. It was sooooooo stressful! On top of that, my boyfriend who I
needed comfort from while going through all of this was too busy at work to
meet me. He didn’t even seem all that concerned about the situation. I really
needed him to help alleviate my stress, but even when he had time on the
weekend, he was too tired to stay the night with me. Luckily we were able to go
on a date, but still, I really wanted the comfort of sleeping next to him.
I went back to the bank a few days later to receive my bank
book to which I was shocked and angry when they said I couldn’t do it because
they needed my residence card which would still take a while for me to obtain
because I was still waiting for the police report. I kept asking why they
couldn’t give me a new one when I was able to open my bank account without my
residence card and stated that it was insane that I couldn’t have access to my
own money. I had other forms of identification, but apparently my 2 years old
certificate from the city hall saying I’m a resident of Shijonawate with my
address on it is “too old.” Luckily after asking them my possibilities a few
times, they agreed (or got tired of me complaining) to let me use my temporary
insurance form as long as I brought the real new one in as soon as I receive
it. I was so flustered by the end of it all. I was able to get my bank book
which allows me to withdraw money during bank hours (which are extremely short
and require me to take off work if I go). However, I have to wait 10 business
days for my cash card which allows me to use ATMs to withdraw money any time.
Not having a card is super inconvenient, and I won’t probably get it until
after my next payday which means I will have to take off work for like the
fifth time just so I can withdraw money.
My last complaint about the stupid bank is that when I received
my insurance card, I left work early to go show them, and got there at 3:30
(the bank closes at 4), and for some unknown reason, it was closed! So stupid.
They are just gona have to wait for it.
The last big stressful thing was going to get my new
residence card. First I went to the police station to pick up my police report
after they took a week to finish it. By the way, you have to go to the station
that’s closest to where the crime happened, not closest to where you live which
is a pain and expensive. After that, I went to the Osaka immigration Bureau. I
had to bring my passport, police report, a reissue application, and recent
passport photos which I prepared in advance ($8). Luckily they make the card
for you right then and there. I was thinking that by making a new card, the
expiration date would be extended, but it wasn’t, so I have to go back in a
couple months again to apply for an extension and new card which is annoying
and requires me to take off work and go at least two times (the train there is
also expensive).
In any case, all the wallet stuff is slowly falling into
place. Each time I got to a grocery store or order a pizza or whatever, I have
to deal with the annoyance of making new member and point cards, but it’s not
that big of a deal (although I was like only 3 stamps away from a free pizza
and now I have to start over again…grrr!). My mom will send me my new debit
card and hopefully Costco card in the mail as soon as she gets them.
This whole experience was so stressful and frustrating that
I got physically ill from it. My whole body and head hurt. I went to bed at
like 9 pm every night and didn’t want to leave my house. I had friends message me
and support me. My supervisor and my family helped a lot, but the person I
wanted comfort from the most, my boyfriend, wasn’t around which made me
depressed. Like I said, things are settling and getting better…but wait, I’m
not finished!
Just when I thought things couldn’t get any more stressful,
they did. I have learned that things can always be worse. About one week after
my wallet was stolen, I left my apartment to go to work on a Tuesday morning
like normal. I went to my apartment’s bike cubby and stood there for a second
kind of spacing out. Was I blind? Where was my bike? I rode it home from work
last night (right? I kept replaying riding my bike home from work over and over
just to confirm that I actually did). I slowly pointed at each bike and said, “Not
mine. Not mine. Not mine,” just to make sure I wasn’t going crazy. Sure enough,
it wasn’t there. I could help but laugh out loud a little to myself in
disbelief that I could have such bad luck. I had to rush to work by walking and
got all sweaty and was a little late. I just wanted to smack my head on my desk
and give up. May I add that all my boyfriend had to say about the incident was,
“Guess you’ll just have to buy a new one.” Great, thanks for the advice…like I
didn’t already know. I’m not saying my boyfriend is a bad guy. He really just
is unimaginably busy with work working about 14 hours a day, and I guess just
doesn’t have time to deal with any problems but his own.
You may be wondering, “Stephanie, how is it that you got your
bike stolen? Wasn’t it locked?” Valid question. Way to point out all my flaws.
I’m sorry I’m not freaking perfect. About a month early, I fell down on my bike
while going to work (which hurt a lot by the way). When that happened, the lock
got all smashed, and I couldn’t lock my bike anymore. I had intentions of
replacing it, but I just hadn’t gotten around to it yet. Also, because Japan is
sooooo safe, I thought it would be
ok. I’m learning a lot of valuable lessons.
I had no desire to go back to the police and report it after
all the stress I just went through with them for my wallet. I don’t have
confidence that they’d find it anyway…or even give an effort to. It just really
sucks to know that thieves and bad people are living so close to me right in my
town. How did this person know about me and my bicycle? Did they scout me out
or just come upon my bike by chance while searching for one to steal? May I add
that there were other bikes in my cubby unlocked too… Anyway, it just makes me
feel uneasy and unsafe in my own home which sucks!
Thank God for my bestie, Joe. He had an extra bike he was
willing to sell to me. It may be a clunker, but it works! I would’ve been so
depressed if I had to buy a new expensive bike because I simply can’t afford
it. With all the running around I do around my town, a bike is necessary for
me.
A somewhat funny thing about all of this was that in my
wallet was my 大吉 (daikichi) fortune which means “very lucky.” I got that
fortune at my first shrine visit of the year and it was supposed to mean that
I’d be very lucky this year. HA! I guess the Japanese gods don’t give a sh*t
about me. End rant.
I guess if one positive thing came out of this experience,
it’s that I’m learning to be an adult on my own and deal with things (or that I
just want to move back in with my mommy and daddy lol). I’ve learned to be more
careful and to take precautions. I’m learning that Japan isn’t as safe as all
the articles and such say. I am now an expert on what to do if your wallet gets
stolen, so please come to me if it happens to you because I can help!
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