Jitensha
A memorable stay in a Japanese police station!!! All because of my jitensha (bicycle).
When I moved to the new apartment, the agent, as a token of "appreciation" gifted me an old bicycle. I was a little skeptical..........old bicycle???............in Japan????.........when I realized that a new bicycle will cost around 10000 Yen, I thought of accepting it. And that was the beginning.
One day, I was going to the office. On my way, I had seen a police car. Two policemen were staring at me. Suddenly I thought..........Dude, they will chase you. And exactly that happened. After 5 minutes, I have seen the police car stopping in front of me and a policeman jumping out of it............I was cool.......I played the same trick of listening to Japanese and answering in English to make them repent of their action. (This I tried the third or fourth day after landing here- without any prior advice from anybody-a Cop started questioning me and asked me my foreign registration card, which I didn’t get at that time and my passport, which was in my office-so I thought of convincing him with my English and he refused to get convinced and I kept on speaking in English with Malayalam, Hindu and Bengali words in between-after 5 minutes, I couldn’t see any cop anywhere nearby). When they had seen my ID of the institute and also because the interrogation took place near my Institute, they just let me go. They had asked me about the bicycle and I showed them the visiting card of the house agent. So all went well.
Last Saturday (5th February, 2005), things were different. The Murphy's Law played here in its full spirit and essence. "If something is ought to happen, it will happen". I had an easy way to my home by which I could save 3-4 minutes (out of the total 7 min. journey). But on that day, I thought of getting more exercise and decided to take another route. I knew that I had to cross a police out box if I choose that path. Still I chose it. When I crossed the police box, nothing happened, but after a few seconds, something happened.
A police man is chasing me............this time not in car, but he was running and gasping........
"Sumimasen...........(Excuse me)..............
Here you are............Rajeev..............Let's start the game!!!
I stopped the cycle and the rituals began...............foreign registration card, name, home etc. etc. I played the good old trick again. I decided to give reply only in English and did the same. Things were moving as expected. No worries............Cool...............
But...................
Suddenly he started asking about the bicycle...............Again I was cool. I made the pre-recorded statement.................bicycle.............old..............given by agent..................for going to office...............gift etc. etc. I was hopeful. After all, I am replying in English and he is asking in Japanese.................if he is normal Japanese cop, he should leave by this time.
But something unexpected happened. He started verifying the bicycle number and saying something in his wireless set.............My God.............what is he doing???...............and after a moment.........there it is..............A POLICE CAR!!!!!............Where was it till then???.............so now tow cops and one Rajeev.............things are getting heated up.
They asked me many things in Japanese and I replied many things in English................both questions and answers were in vain............Now it is almost 20 minutes and I am still there.......that's okay. But they are also there. That is not that much a nice thing. I think they finally got convinced that I got this cycle from the house agent and things are fine with me.
But they did a grave mistake.
In order to show his sincerity, the first cop, using his wireless set, talked to somebody in the POLICE STATION. ...........Now the situation is complete changed. The police station got a message and a bicycle number. The whole police station was under alert...........they started verifying the records..........computers.............online data.................networking..............city office..........police station..................Eureka...........
Eureka.................Eureka...............
THIS BICYCLE DOES NOT BELONG TO THE AGENT EITHER.........................
Rajeev, you are in big trouble. You told that the agent had given to you the cycle........and now you see, it is not registered in the name of that agent either..............How is this possible Rajeev.......... You should be aware of the dangers of an unregistered bicycle to the internal and external security of Japan! You did a mistake, Rajeev.
Again there were discussions between the cops, between the cops and the police station............I still was SOMEWHAT cool (initially I was VERY cool...there is a difference)............Finally they came to me and nodded their head...........Oops............relieved........Rajeev, you are all set to go............They talked to me something in Japanese for 5 minutes and I heard Police station more than once..............at least 5 times. I didn't mind. Anyway, I am going back to my home, so why I should bother. I was nodding my head all the time............But after some time, I was hearing only the word "Police Station"............... That's something confusing!
Oh! My God.....................suddenly it clicked..........These fellows are asking me to accompany them to the police station!!!!!!! So in the last 10 minutes, they were asking me the same thing. That's why I heard the word police station more than once!!!
Am I arrested??
So now I am going to experience something absolutely new in my life. They ceremoniously put me inside the police car. They somehow managed to place the bicycle in the trunk of the car. They got both...........the person and the evidence..................
That 20 minute journey to the police station was one of the most memorable (?) journeys in my life............people were looking at me sympathetically................Then they looked sympathetically at the bicycle.......Once they got a glimpse of the bicycle, they lost all the sympathy for me.........I think they were thinking "this gajiin (foreigner) has got only this bicycle to steal"................Oops
I slowly started realizing the realities. I started speaking in whatever Japanese I know. I showed them all documents I was having. The discount cards in shops, my American driving license, the photocopy of the Institute ID card, the telephone calling card, the visiting card of the agent etc. etc. Everything I took out from the wallet. I deliberately opened the wallet more than once in order to make them realize that I have solid cash with me (............can I bribe them??).......and in a feeble voice I asked........."any trouble??................(not for them, but for me).............what is the Japanese word for trouble?? TV is terebi in Japanese.......so trouble is terebulla??
In the police station, it was business as usual. A royal treatment. Four or five officers surrounded me and started asking me questions. You know the sound energy creating when four our five mouths are simultaneously pouring Japanese..............It was a nice feeling. The procession then went to the questioning room.......I was again adamant that I would speak only in English which made them all the more adamant not to understand whatever I am telling......
Finally...........the cops got a justification for the monthly payment of one of the employees in their department "Translator"...................They connected me to an English-Japanese-English translator. I explained to him everything. He was so kind and polite (but what's the use, it was over phone) so that I got all my freshness back. Then it was translation as usual.....I to him- he to me- he to the Cops-Cops to him-he to me......
Finally the verdict came. The cops tried to contact the agent who gave me the cycle, and as usual, they did not get him (even for business, it is difficult to get him over phone, so no wonder he was out of reach for a cop's call). So the sincere and dedicated cops tried to contact the original owner. I was so lucky that the original owner was in Japan only (imagine the situation-he is a foreigner like me and he left Japan long back. The cops are trying to contact him in vain....they are asking the Interpol to trace him...........Interpol is also searching in vain...........and I am sitting in the police station all the time!!!!!)......So they got the original owner and the cops asked her whether she had a bicycle having such and such and registration number. She said YES and they hung up the phone.
So the final situation is like this............I told the cops that the cycle was given to me by the agent. Cops could not contact the agent. But they could contact the original owner. The original owner said YES to their question. So the decision is.............I have to surrender the cycle there and the Cops will promptly return the cycle to the original owner. Man..............that lady, just to avoid the difficulties of dumping the bicycle in the city office and to save some money as recycling fee, gave the bicycle to the agent and he took the cycle so that he can specifically give it to a person like me. Now the cops are going to give back the cycle to the lady. So the cops are going to draw a full circle!!!!!
So I am mentally prepared............time to say good bye to my cycle (and also a 5km walk back to my home)...........Papers are getting ready.................I am about to sign.........
Suddenly...........
One more phone call to the original owner.............Only this time the cops asked her whether she had given the cycle to the agent. Since it was not asked during the first phone call, she didn't give that information. Cops also didn't bother to ask this specific question in the first instance. Now the question is asked and she has the answer ............Yes, she had given the bicycle to the agent.
Rajeev......................you got the bicycle back..............
Like the ceremonious welcome, a ceremonious farewell. The cops were too good and they offered a ride back home in their car which I politely refused. They said "sorry" a thousand times.
And I am back in home.
The next day, after taking the breakfast, the first thing I did was going to the shop and buying a brand new bicycle. After that I checked some websites and in one of the sites, it is mentioned "if you are using your friend's bicycle in Japan, you may face "some" problems". I realized what is this "some" means.
On a serious note, I should say that the policemen were extremely polite and gentle throught my stay here.Though I felt a little uneasy realizing that I am in a police station, they were never ever rude to me. When they realized the actual situation, they were apologetic and told "sorry" many times. They just did their duty.
When I moved to the new apartment, the agent, as a token of "appreciation" gifted me an old bicycle. I was a little skeptical..........old bicycle???............in Japan????.........when I realized that a new bicycle will cost around 10000 Yen, I thought of accepting it. And that was the beginning.
One day, I was going to the office. On my way, I had seen a police car. Two policemen were staring at me. Suddenly I thought..........Dude, they will chase you. And exactly that happened. After 5 minutes, I have seen the police car stopping in front of me and a policeman jumping out of it............I was cool.......I played the same trick of listening to Japanese and answering in English to make them repent of their action. (This I tried the third or fourth day after landing here- without any prior advice from anybody-a Cop started questioning me and asked me my foreign registration card, which I didn’t get at that time and my passport, which was in my office-so I thought of convincing him with my English and he refused to get convinced and I kept on speaking in English with Malayalam, Hindu and Bengali words in between-after 5 minutes, I couldn’t see any cop anywhere nearby). When they had seen my ID of the institute and also because the interrogation took place near my Institute, they just let me go. They had asked me about the bicycle and I showed them the visiting card of the house agent. So all went well.
Last Saturday (5th February, 2005), things were different. The Murphy's Law played here in its full spirit and essence. "If something is ought to happen, it will happen". I had an easy way to my home by which I could save 3-4 minutes (out of the total 7 min. journey). But on that day, I thought of getting more exercise and decided to take another route. I knew that I had to cross a police out box if I choose that path. Still I chose it. When I crossed the police box, nothing happened, but after a few seconds, something happened.
A police man is chasing me............this time not in car, but he was running and gasping........
"Sumimasen...........(Excuse me)..............
Here you are............Rajeev..............Let's start the game!!!
I stopped the cycle and the rituals began...............foreign registration card, name, home etc. etc. I played the good old trick again. I decided to give reply only in English and did the same. Things were moving as expected. No worries............Cool...............
But...................
Suddenly he started asking about the bicycle...............Again I was cool. I made the pre-recorded statement.................bicycle.............old..............given by agent..................for going to office...............gift etc. etc. I was hopeful. After all, I am replying in English and he is asking in Japanese.................if he is normal Japanese cop, he should leave by this time.
But something unexpected happened. He started verifying the bicycle number and saying something in his wireless set.............My God.............what is he doing???...............and after a moment.........there it is..............A POLICE CAR!!!!!............Where was it till then???.............so now tow cops and one Rajeev.............things are getting heated up.
They asked me many things in Japanese and I replied many things in English................both questions and answers were in vain............Now it is almost 20 minutes and I am still there.......that's okay. But they are also there. That is not that much a nice thing. I think they finally got convinced that I got this cycle from the house agent and things are fine with me.
But they did a grave mistake.
In order to show his sincerity, the first cop, using his wireless set, talked to somebody in the POLICE STATION. ...........Now the situation is complete changed. The police station got a message and a bicycle number. The whole police station was under alert...........they started verifying the records..........computers.............online data.................networking..............city office..........police station..................Eureka...........
Eureka.................Eureka...............
THIS BICYCLE DOES NOT BELONG TO THE AGENT EITHER.........................
Rajeev, you are in big trouble. You told that the agent had given to you the cycle........and now you see, it is not registered in the name of that agent either..............How is this possible Rajeev.......... You should be aware of the dangers of an unregistered bicycle to the internal and external security of Japan! You did a mistake, Rajeev.
Again there were discussions between the cops, between the cops and the police station............I still was SOMEWHAT cool (initially I was VERY cool...there is a difference)............Finally they came to me and nodded their head...........Oops............relieved........Rajeev, you are all set to go............They talked to me something in Japanese for 5 minutes and I heard Police station more than once..............at least 5 times. I didn't mind. Anyway, I am going back to my home, so why I should bother. I was nodding my head all the time............But after some time, I was hearing only the word "Police Station"............... That's something confusing!
Oh! My God.....................suddenly it clicked..........These fellows are asking me to accompany them to the police station!!!!!!! So in the last 10 minutes, they were asking me the same thing. That's why I heard the word police station more than once!!!
Am I arrested??
So now I am going to experience something absolutely new in my life. They ceremoniously put me inside the police car. They somehow managed to place the bicycle in the trunk of the car. They got both...........the person and the evidence..................
That 20 minute journey to the police station was one of the most memorable (?) journeys in my life............people were looking at me sympathetically................Then they looked sympathetically at the bicycle.......Once they got a glimpse of the bicycle, they lost all the sympathy for me.........I think they were thinking "this gajiin (foreigner) has got only this bicycle to steal"................Oops
I slowly started realizing the realities. I started speaking in whatever Japanese I know. I showed them all documents I was having. The discount cards in shops, my American driving license, the photocopy of the Institute ID card, the telephone calling card, the visiting card of the agent etc. etc. Everything I took out from the wallet. I deliberately opened the wallet more than once in order to make them realize that I have solid cash with me (............can I bribe them??).......and in a feeble voice I asked........."any trouble??................(not for them, but for me).............what is the Japanese word for trouble?? TV is terebi in Japanese.......so trouble is terebulla??
In the police station, it was business as usual. A royal treatment. Four or five officers surrounded me and started asking me questions. You know the sound energy creating when four our five mouths are simultaneously pouring Japanese..............It was a nice feeling. The procession then went to the questioning room.......I was again adamant that I would speak only in English which made them all the more adamant not to understand whatever I am telling......
Finally...........the cops got a justification for the monthly payment of one of the employees in their department "Translator"...................They connected me to an English-Japanese-English translator. I explained to him everything. He was so kind and polite (but what's the use, it was over phone) so that I got all my freshness back. Then it was translation as usual.....I to him- he to me- he to the Cops-Cops to him-he to me......
Finally the verdict came. The cops tried to contact the agent who gave me the cycle, and as usual, they did not get him (even for business, it is difficult to get him over phone, so no wonder he was out of reach for a cop's call). So the sincere and dedicated cops tried to contact the original owner. I was so lucky that the original owner was in Japan only (imagine the situation-he is a foreigner like me and he left Japan long back. The cops are trying to contact him in vain....they are asking the Interpol to trace him...........Interpol is also searching in vain...........and I am sitting in the police station all the time!!!!!)......So they got the original owner and the cops asked her whether she had a bicycle having such and such and registration number. She said YES and they hung up the phone.
So the final situation is like this............I told the cops that the cycle was given to me by the agent. Cops could not contact the agent. But they could contact the original owner. The original owner said YES to their question. So the decision is.............I have to surrender the cycle there and the Cops will promptly return the cycle to the original owner. Man..............that lady, just to avoid the difficulties of dumping the bicycle in the city office and to save some money as recycling fee, gave the bicycle to the agent and he took the cycle so that he can specifically give it to a person like me. Now the cops are going to give back the cycle to the lady. So the cops are going to draw a full circle!!!!!
So I am mentally prepared............time to say good bye to my cycle (and also a 5km walk back to my home)...........Papers are getting ready.................I am about to sign.........
Suddenly...........
One more phone call to the original owner.............Only this time the cops asked her whether she had given the cycle to the agent. Since it was not asked during the first phone call, she didn't give that information. Cops also didn't bother to ask this specific question in the first instance. Now the question is asked and she has the answer ............Yes, she had given the bicycle to the agent.
Rajeev......................you got the bicycle back..............
Like the ceremonious welcome, a ceremonious farewell. The cops were too good and they offered a ride back home in their car which I politely refused. They said "sorry" a thousand times.
And I am back in home.
The next day, after taking the breakfast, the first thing I did was going to the shop and buying a brand new bicycle. After that I checked some websites and in one of the sites, it is mentioned "if you are using your friend's bicycle in Japan, you may face "some" problems". I realized what is this "some" means.
On a serious note, I should say that the policemen were extremely polite and gentle throught my stay here.Though I felt a little uneasy realizing that I am in a police station, they were never ever rude to me. When they realized the actual situation, they were apologetic and told "sorry" many times. They just did their duty.
posted by Konnichiwwa at 1:45 AM
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