Lost Found all along the upper east side of manhattan pennies, dimes and even quarters gleam along the curbs. no such twinkling on the streets of tokyo: coins are rarely underfoot perhaps due to how often the street is swept with brooms made of twigs. even if the occasional y 100 coin (about $1) slips out of a hole in a pocket, for example, it remains where it falls until the owner returns. unless a good samaritan takes the time to pick it up and deposit it at the local koban (police box) for the owner to identify at a later date. at least this was the consensus at the weekly english conversation group gathering. as predicted at 11 am on a wednesday at the manor, four immaculate english speakers (this week favoring white and cream) mulled over the appropriate way to handle lost coins. (the fifth member aka obaasan -- or grandmother-- was absent this week in order to help her daughter-in-law with the newly born third son.) conversation opener this week: see a penny, pick it up. all day long you ll have good luck. what a strange western belief: who would pick up the flimsy aluminum y 1 coin that has the feel of play money? no one at this table. all agreed that the smallest coin they would bend down to get would be y 500 (about $5), a large copper. whether they would bring it to the koban depended on how far they would have to walk. the act of touching a dirty item on the ground is the challenge in this germ-phobic nation.