Thursday, June 30, 2011

Day 1: Apartment Robbed

On Thursday, June 23rd, I left my apartment just before noon to go to work. Here's what my place is like, for the record:


I returned home just after 3:30pm. When I put my key in the lock, something was strange. I'd say having your lock changed on you is strange!

The story that I've refrained from going into on this blog is that my landlord and another landlord have a civil lawsuit going on over the ownership of some rooms. This shouldn't affect me until the case is resolved in court, at which point I would either be asked to leave or allowed to stay. This is how the world should work.

I called my real estate agent, told her the problem, and she called a locksmith. Meanwhile, I went to the police. They said that since it is a civil matter, there is nothing they can do.

It's now 5:30pm, and the locksmith arrives. Dude doesn't have very good tools, and he struggles with the lock. For over 2 hours.

And now the story begins. I made a video:


Completely cleaned out.

Everything I own in this world (apart from the shoe closet) is gone. Cameras, computers, TV... but also things like my toothbrush, dirty socks, and English books.


Completely cleaned out.

Back to the police. This time they take notice. CSI Japan comes down and lifts footprints. I fill out a lot of paperwork. The police give me a number I can call to check the investigation. And at 11pm, I walk away from my Tokyo apartment, sweaty work clothes on my back.

Thus ends day 1. A local friend gave me a floor to sleep on for the night.


Am I leaving anything out? Oh, the suspects. Of course the guys that are fighting the civil lawsuit with my landlord are on the top of the list. But no one can get a hold of them. My hopes are that they just figured they have a right to the room, and moved my stuff into storage.

Coming up on day 2... no answers, more questions!

Read more of this saga at Day 1, Day 2, Day 5, Day 6, Day 12, and Day 16.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wwwwwhhhhoooooaaaa, that sucks. Compensation is probably out of the question (yay, Japan -_-), but I really hope you can get at least your stuff back. And that none of it is broken.

lordkaosu said...

Wow, that sounds especially crappy. Good luck getting something back. :/

CoolCheech said...

I recommend setting up a paypal donation box. I say that because you've provided me with. Lot of useful information about living and working in Japan, as well as giving some entertaining anecdotes. I don't know how many readers you have on this and your ramen blog but I'm sure your fans would like to help you out. At least you can cut some of your loses.

Man, I'd be so pissed and upset, that really fucking sucks. Hopefully there's some justice.

Ramen Adventures said...

You can donate to macduckston@gmail.com. I'm still waiting to see if I am financially hit by this. Short term, of course. Long term, maybe I'll be ok.

NeonRaine said...

I had no idea landlords pulled crap like that anywhere in the world. Wow. I hope you get your stuff back!

criminal lawyer san diego said...

That was very unfortunate. We just hope their police are good enough to solve this case. Hope your stuff can still be recovered.

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