Japanese Crime Fighters

I saw something pretty cool today. I suppose it was a cool thing because of the positive outcome. I saw something I've never seen during my entire 5 years living in Japan.

I saw a crime...

Now, the actual crime itself wasn't cool. Crime by default isn't cool. It was cool because I witnessed some
good Samaritans apprehend a potential criminal.

I was in a subway station in downtown Osaka today after purchasing some bookcases for my new classroom. Myself and a colleague had just put our boxes down in front of the entrance so I could buy a ticket.

I walked to the ticket machine and I could hear yelling of some sort in the distance. I could then see a man, in his late 20's running (not very quickly) while holding a woman's handbag. He was desperately rummaging through the bag as he ran. An elderly man was in chase yelling that the man was a thief!

Suddenly, a business man, in a suit lay chase. He was a fit looking guy in this late 30's. Within seconds he was behind the guy and tackled him from behind. As they got up another couple of men standing nearby grabbed hold of the suspected thief as well. Within minutes a policeman came, grabbed the guy and threw him up against the wall.

The man who did the tackle started to walk away and I intercepted him. I walked up, shook his hand, patted him on the back and thanked him. That put a huge smile on his face.

I wrote about this on Facebook shortly after I witnessed it. Some people asked I I helped capture the guy. I didn't. I didn't have to!

Felt pretty awesome seeing regular people doing good and making the world a enter place.

Japanese Mafia Headquarters...I take a look!

So here’s the deal. I am coming near the end of my training for Osaka Marathon 2012 on November 25^th.  With just a few weeks left I need to make some rather lengthy long runs. Most runners, when preparing for a full marathon run a very long run every weekend. That long run builds stamina and gets your body used to being pushed for several hours. The great thing about long runs is that you can explore large parts of the city you live in. I have been from one end of Kobe to the other, but decided something a little new for this morning’s 31km (20 mile) run. I wanted to make it a “destination” run so to speak.

I decided that I would check out the compound that is the headquarters of the Yamaguchi-gumi. The Yamaguchi-gumi is the largest organized crime syndicate in Japan and is what is known as the yakuza.

Many Japanese people had told me where I could find their compound. I suppose it is pretty common knowledge amongst residents of Kobe. It only took me about five minutes doing Google searches to find the exact location last night. I realized that I had run very close to it on several occasions in the past.

Early this morning I ran to the area it is located and walked down the street it is on, snapped a few pictures and made a quick video.

It was exhilarating walking down that side street in a quiet area of Kobe. I probably won’t go there again, but it was cool to do once.

I then continued with my run.

Didn't want to hang around long, but was able to make a silly face in front of the HQ's entrance!

The compound is surrounded by a high wall and thick trees. There are also cameras all over the place!

5 More Things I Hate About Japan

This is a continuation of yesterday's blog that took an ironic look at various things I "don't" like about Japan (irony folks...just in case you don't realize it).

1. The sense of safety: I can leave my laptop on a coffee shop table while I go to the washroom and when I return I know it will still be there. That pisses me off! I can leave my bag on the train and there's a very good chance it will be placed in lost and found. That's just ridiculous! Where I come from there would possibly be a fight in the coffee shop because too many people would try to steal my computer at the same time. I mean, at Christmas, when my wife bought me a Tim Hortons coffee tumbler, she was warned by staff not to leave it on a table unattended because someone will steal it. I expect the same level of thievery here in Japan, but it just doesn't exist. So disappointing.

2. Convenient and efficient public transportation: This is something that really chaps my ass. I want to be left waiting I freezing weather while unreliable buses don't show up on time. I want to live in a place where, I don't have a car, I'm pretty much screwed for getting around the city. Give me that Japan!

3. Japanese ramen: I hate it so much because it is so delicious. Every mouthful is packed with so much flavor that I want to eat it everyday. If I did eat it everyday I would most certainly die of a massive heart attack within the next 6 months!

4. Japanese green tea: Hey there Mr. Green Tea....you're full of anti-oxidants, your tasty and warm me up on cold winter nights! Get over yourself you fancy schmancy drink!

5. Really fast Internet speeds: I want the "snail paced" speeds that Canadian "high speed" Internet offers. I mean...come on, you don't even throttle people's Internet like back home. If I want to download something it happens in the blink of an eye. That's just bullshit if you ask me!

There ya go folks. 5 more things about Japan that I "hate." I you liked this post and the previous post, come on over to a new blog "experiment" mine. I'll make one short daily post about something I "hate" in life (The I Hate Project). Eventually all the posts will be compiled into a silly eBook of sorts!