Is Tokyo safe? Well, people leave their smartphone to save a seat...

It's lunch time, I go to near cafe and the girl that walks before me places her phone on a table that's not taken and continues to walk to the counter. With wide eyes, I eyed the phone and then the girl's back at the counter, back and forth. She hasn't turned back once to check on her phone, she probably can't even see it from where she is. From the table I've chosen, it's in my instinct to keep an eye on her phone but I really don't need to, no one takes it and runs away. I'm blown away.

As much as I love London, if you do this there, there's a good chance that someone will grab it and make a run for it. I've seen it happening when the person is even at the table, the phone on the side of the table, the owner loses sight of it by looking to the other side and, what do you know, that second was all it took for the guy in a nearby table to steal it.

Here, on the other hand, phones, wallets, handbags are left unattended to save spots in cafes and restaurants. Okay, you leave your bag unattended in London and it can get escalated to a bomb threat but we're not talking about that now. Even on public transport, I've seen people asleep with their phones left on the table or seat next to them, and then, the person who wanted to use the seat taking their phone and leaving it on their lap.

Last month, I went for lunch with my Japanese manager. 10 minutes after leaving the restaurant, I realised I forgot my handbag there (usually I only take my purse). All the way back, I was panicking, thinking someone would've taken it along with my cash, resident card, health insurance card, credit cards... all a hassle to get new ones. However, my manager kept saying it'd be fine and she was right. As soon as I walked back in, the waitress had my handbag secured behind the counter as another customer had handed in and nothing was taken. I don't know about you, but for me, that's amazing.

I'm not saying that there is no crime in Tokyo but from current experience, I feel it's relatively safe. And I'm not in any way suggesting that people should leave personal items to reserve a table. I'm now leaving my cardigan and ordering my meal set from the cafe counter.

#safety