Morning at the Inn

Case Record

On a clear morning, the wristwatch of a guest, Mr. Nomura, went missing from Room 202 of an inn. Mr. Nomura was at the large public bath from 6:10 to 6:20 a.m.

The four guests on the same floor all said, "I was in my room at that time." The police asked each about that morning.

Mr. Sugimoto (Room 201): "My alarm rang at 6:15. I turned it off and stayed in bed."
Ms. Hasegawa (Room 204): "Around 6:15, the morning sun shining in through the window hit my face directly and woke me."
Ms. Ishii (Room 205): "Me too, around 6:15 the morning sun from my room’s window hit my face directly and woke me with its glare."
Mr. Morita (Room 206): "Around 6:15 I was checking the weather forecast on my smartphone."

The floor plan is of that day. Each room has a window only on the one side shown in the plan, and no window on the corridor side. Outside the windows there are no buildings, mirrors or water surfaces that reflect sunlight.

According to the weather record, at 6:15 a.m. the sun was in the eastern sky.

Your question

Who gave testimony that contradicts these conditions?

Case Files

Diagram

Hints

If you get stuck, open the hints one at a time, in order.

Open hint 1

Find the accounts that depend on the direction of the room.

Open hint 2

Compare east and west and each room’s window in the floor plan.

Solve It

Your question

Who gave testimony that contradicts these conditions?

Choose the answer closest to the truth.

Share my result

The Truth

Ms. Ishii (Room 205)

The answer is “Ms. Ishii (Room 205).”

In the floor plan, Room 205 is on the west side of the corridor and its window faces west. At 6:15 a.m., with the sun in the eastern sky, morning sunlight coming from the east cannot enter a west-facing window and hit Ms. Ishii’s face directly. There is no corridor-side window, and the reflected-light conditions are excluded. Room 204’s window faces east, so Ms. Hasegawa’s testimony does not have this contradiction. Turning off an alarm or looking at a phone has nothing to do with the direction of the window. Ms. Ishii’s account needs checking, but having a lie or a mistake does not by itself prove she stole the watch.

Diagram of the solution

Key Points

Check compass directions and window directions in the plan
Think which way the morning sun comes from
Select only the testimony that depends on room direction

Why people get fooled

All four say “I was in my room,” so you do not narrow down to the testimony that depends on room direction.