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As many of you know, I am quite skilled in the art of losing anything of value or importance. This weekend of course was of no exception. After hiking out in the country side (near Mitake) with my roommate and a classmate, I somehow managed to lose my apartment/room key while transferring trains at Tachikawa station, roughly one hour from my house. Upon my arrival at Yotsuya, I realized I didn’t feel the usual presence of my key in my pants’ pocket and began to panic. Not due to the 150USD replacement fee(though that was on my mind), but because these past few days it has been a national holiday known as Golden Week. During this time period everyone from Tokyo leaves and travels the countryside and the entirety of the Japanese countryside somehow ends up in Tokyo. Continuing with my string of bad luck, I could recall my landlord previously mentioning that she would not be in town for the holidays. Thus, essentially leaving me homeless due to my own mistake.

With little hope, I went to the Stationmaster’s office and attempted to explain my situation. Having been raised in the US where customer service is absolutely pathetic, I expected them to say something along the lines of  ”Tough luck,” BUT….what Japan Rails did was far beyond anything I had ever expected. Once the stationmaster realized how important it was for me to find my key, he ran into the staff room and got several of the staff who were on break to come out and help aid in the search. They questioned me concerning everything from where I was coming from, what train line I rode, and what time I began/ended my commute. With this information, two of the stationmasters began using the intercom to notify each train presently  operating on Chuo-sen (which extends for almost 430miles). two of the other stationmasters began calling each station between Tokyo Station and Mitake Station, a total of 38 stations. During the whole time that this is happening, I could hear each stationmaster apologizing for the disturbing their respective counterparts at the other stations and requesting this “small favor.” After roughly one hour, Tachikawa station called back to inform that my apartment key had been found below the platform on top of the train tracks.

After receiving this information, the stationmasters kindly apologized for the wait and informed me where I could pick up my key…….I was completely flabbergasted to say the least. I must have said “hontou ni arigatou gouzaimashita” 50x times and bowed a few a thousand times to express my thanks and gratitude. Never had I expected it to actually be found. While I was I was waiting in the main office, I was contemplating how to break into my own room from the balcony. Sometimes Japan…you just amaze me.

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