Ummm…thanks?

Moving to another place is a cocktail of complicated emotions: excitement, stress, worry, and perhaps relief at the end of the process. From finding the right city to preparing the logistics, there’s a lot that can go right and a lot that can go wrong. But for one Japanese netizen, who was checking out their new abode before the big move, an unexpected offering was awaiting in the kitchen oven.

Things were going as usual for the netizen, Legend Tamura (@onani_shun), when inspecting their new home until they reached the kitchen. Of course, one of the natural things to do when examining any kitchen is to check the state of its appliances, but when the netizen cracked open the oven, instead of finding an empty grate and maybe some leftover residue from the previous occupant’s baking adventures, what greeted them was an already baked sweet potato.

▼ This feels like the punchline to some joke, but what’s the joke?

Baked sweet potatoes, known as yaki imo in Japanese, can be enjoyed year-round, though their toasty yellow insides and sweet but mild fragrance are especially popular on chilly autumn days.

Upon closer inspection of this sweet potato, one can see a few welts of brown along its dry skin, no doubt not the nicest thing to witness on a busy day. Whether it’s just mold or the potato’s baked skin mummified over time, we’ll never know, but it’s highly possible the previous occupant of Legend Tamura’s new place baked the potato and simply forgot about it, which happens to the best of us.

▼ Or this could just be a very drawn out prank, though I’d be a little sore someone wasted a sweet potato like that.

Japanese netizens reacted in delight, amusement, and speculation:

“Now that you’ve posted a pic of this potato, the person who formerly lived there knows who’s taking over after them.”
“So how’s the taste?”
“I think the only right thing to do here is to return the potato to its rightful owner.”
“Maybe this is a housewarming gift from your landlord?”
“That sweet potato looks pretty well-baked.”

“Take care of the potato. It’s probably tuber important to the previous occupant.”

Shriveled and possibly forgotten sweet potatoes aside, at least this situation seems a lot easier to clean up versus an actual bamboo stalk growing through your kitchen floor.

Source, images: Twitter/@onani_shun via Hachima Kiko
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!