The Laptop Bag I Left Behind in Japan
My journey to Japan started with a pleasant ANA flight from Delhi to Narita. I was travelling to Tokyo to deliver a lecture at Tokyo University for ANGIS, and everything was going smoothly.
After landing at Narita Airport, I stopped at Starbucks for a coffee and then took the Kensei Skyliner towards Tokyo. I got down at Nippori and continued to my hotel.
After reaching the hotel, I was tired from the journey, so I decided to take a two-hour rest.
When I woke up, I started looking for my laptop.
It wasn't in the room.
I checked my luggage again.
Still nothing.
Then I realised that my laptop bag was missing.
It was a black Samsonite bag with a silver Acer laptop inside. The laptop was extremely important because I had all the material I needed for my lecture.
I became very stressed.
Coming from India, my immediate thought was that if I had left such a valuable bag on a train, there was very little chance of getting it back.
I called my friend and told him what had happened. He calmly said, “Don't worry. Stay cool and go back to the terminal station. There is a Lost and Found section.”
I followed his advice and went back to the station.
Before going to the terminal, I approached a nearby police check post. The experience was quite different from what I was used to in India. The police personnel were calm and relaxed, some with their bicycles, and they patiently listened to my problem.
They directed me to the Lost and Found section and advised me to visit the terminal station at Ueno.
I reached Ueno with very little hope.
I approached the Lost and Found counter and explained what had happened. I described the bag carefully.
“It's a black Samsonite laptop bag with a silver Acer laptop inside.”
The person at the counter listened calmly. He went to the storage area and asked me to check the bags.
And then I saw it.
My laptop bag.
For a moment, I couldn't believe it.
The bag I thought I had lost was safely there.
The staff member handed it to me and simply asked me to check whether everything was inside.
I opened the bag.
The laptop was there.
Everything was there.
Nothing was missing.
I cannot describe the relief I felt at that moment.
What had started as a pleasant journey from Delhi had suddenly turned into a very stressful afternoon, but Japan had given me an experience I will never forget.
The biggest lesson I took from that day was simple:
Travel Tip: Always be careful with your luggage.
I was lucky to lose my bag in Japan.
The world is not Japan.
