I've heard from articles, interviews, and just general stuff online about Kabukichou and how the area is known for scamming people. For example, one that I hear the most is the workers try to convince you that the drinks are cheap but when the bill comes, it says the service fee is a ridiculous amount of money. And if you don't pay, then they will have a Yakuza force you to get money out of an ATM. What I'm wondering is I have only heard of this happening to foreigners via interviews, do they try to do this to the locals as well? Just curious
Edit: Thank you for everyone commenting about their experience or many facts I didn't know. I really appreciate it. I feel like I learned a bunch from all of you 😁
by dcgema894
26 comments
Scammers are opportunists, they’ll scam anyone and everyone who falls for it. KoreKore, a Japanese youtuber, has a series where he goes to restaurants with known scams, gets purposefully scammed, and confronts them about it. Entertaining stuff.
Yes, it happens to Japanese as well, but Japanese know about the area and avoid it in general or know the scams and avoid the scammers.
They’ll go after anyone they think they can dupe. Not so uncommon to hear about folks from the countryside going to kabukicho and getting scammed. But ya, I’d say tourists are generally easier to scam so they’ll naturally be a target.
Pro tip don’t go to kabukicho.
This sub is hilarious when it comes to kabukicho. 99% of it is not a scam. Just don’t follow people you don’t know to weird bars.
They are mainly dealing with Japanese rather than foreigners. This is because they cannot speak English and foreigners do not pay them easily. Foreigners are also bigger in size.
I haven’t really seen them in a while. Another foreigner said the cops had started cracking down on them and the street girls in the area. By cracking down, it sounds like they have pushed them outside the main area. Lots of patrols of police officers.
I’ve not seen a tout in at least 2 months.
Stop believing every youtuber trying to get clicks.
Is a place full of dodgy bars and whatnot, _like any other downtown in the world_ .
They do scams on local. I’ve experienced once which was not too serious one though.
Yes, even Japanese get scammed. Often by bottakuri bars. These are bars with “dynamic” pricing. For example, first beer is 100 yen. But then they don’t tell you each beer after that is double priced. Soon you have a beer worth 1-man.
Of course this is illegal but you’re drunk enough to hopefully not notice it. Then they strong arm you into paying or withdrawing money from the atm machine.
Stay away from black guys promising girls
There is a few areas where scammers are given immunity, the police just don’t bother them there. Japanese people in general know about these scams and are given warnings and follow them. Of course they’re still scammed, a mark is a mark. A scammer sets a wide net, trying lots of people who have tells the they’re an easy scam or mark. It’s always easier to take advantage of vulnerable people : tourists, foreigners, intoxicated people etc.
There are some nice places for drinks food and shopping but you can find better places to go. I only go record shopping or for gigs and my friends bar at golden gai.
sure they scam locals. do scammers in your home country scam locals? of course they try. it’s just easier to scam tourists bc they aren’t as familiar with what’s normal
I’m also a huge fan of the yakuza games and I’ve been to kabuki-cho several times. (Even stayed in the Kabuki-cho (millennium) tower.)
It’s pretty much exactly like the games, x1000. It’s also completely safe for tourists, honestly. 99% of the businesses are on the level and it’s a lot of fun to go there and pal around. Just don’t follow a stranger who promises to take you to a cool bar. That’s pretty much all there is to it.
The scam you mention his far from being exclusive to Kabukicho. It can happen practically anywhere and is aimed at anyone who looks a bit naïve, locals included. Tourists are obviously good targets as many of them go to Japan with the preconception that it’s the safest place on Earth, so nothing bad can possibly happen to them. I knew a guy who lost his travel money that way… after I warned him about this very scam!
To avoid trouble, don’t keep all your cash and credits cards on you. If the scammers see that you can’t pay, they’ll most likely let you go. It’s all about scaring people into paying and if they don’t have easy access to money, it’s not worth it. They (probably) won’t hurt you, as it’s too risky.
Note that it’s one of the few thing the French embassy warns tourists about, because it probably happens often enough.
Compared to other scammer and shady business areas abroad, kabukicho is very mild… it’s a legitimate nightlife area enjoyed by both locals and tourists with thousands of places to eat and drink. It may have its touts directing chumps to bars where they are subsequently ripped off, but provided you have your head screwed on you’re basically immune.
Getting ripped off or Botakuri could happen to anyone anywhere not specifically only happening in kabukichou.
Your drinks are cheap, but the girls tend to order everything that’s not on the menu. Some will blatantly order it straight some will ask you if they can order it.
Eventually you’re stuck with a huge bill…..
These things are nowhere near as common as the Internet/YouTube would lead you to believe.
That said, generally speaking the target is Chinese and Koreans as they are less likely to report the crimes. Generally this is more of a historical problem than a modern problem due to all the CCTV and business associations becoming ever more aggressive against crime in general.
Japan is for the most part a cash-based society except for your pasmo or whatever train card you use. Antenna America in Yokohama is where you want to go for good times and good drinks 😉. I lost my phone there and they still had it when I went back a couple months later lol 😉
I’ve seen the guys on the streets some places, that try to get you to come to some bar or restaurant – but they exist all over the world. Just don’t go with them…
I think this fear is extremely exaggerated. Just avoid weird people on the street, who try to talk you into going to “somewhere” for a “good deal”. Its a scam in Japan and it’s a scam in Italy, France, Spain, wherever you find this. Always avoid. I just tell them “no thank you” in a clear slightly raised voice – possibly look them in the eye while saying it. Then they go towards the next person.
Someone approached me maybe once or twice. I’ve been to Japan many times.
I used to be a regular at a bottakuri girls bar. The bar was literally on my way home, the staff all knew me by name. As far as I’m aware, I was the only foreigner that frequented that place as there was a language requirement. So they didn’t specifically target foreigners. The girls specifically chose to target new customers though, regulars were immune.
There were a few ways they would scam you. First is the girls drinks ranged from 1000, 2000, and 3000 yen. Nothing changed between them at all. Once one girl spilled the beans about this, I specifically told them 1000 yen drinks.
Second isn’t specifically a scam, but automatic extension (自動延長). One set was 40 minutes, which is short enough that if you don’t pay attention you’ll end up in two or three sets before you realize it. You should generally ask them to let you know when time is up (声掛け), so you can count your sets. Most people didn’t… Most girls bars will let you know when your time is up, but there are many that don’t.
Third, and this is where the kicker comes in, the basic fee (基本料金). Would sometimes be doubled or tripled. Combine that with the auto extension mentioned above and you can see how this adds up. I later found out that not every girl did this.
The main culprit that did this ended up becoming the manager of another shop under the same owner. From what I’m told, she was a horrible manager, and had girls who simply wouldn’t commit the fraud and just quit instead. That is hearsay though. Not sure if it’s coincidence, but not too long after she became manager, the place and it’s sister stores all got shut down. You can probably find articles about it. They owned a ton of shops in Shibuya, and this was at the start of corona. I’m not sure if the owner ever knew what was happening as he was super hands off.
I think they do scams on local women – invite them to drink and afterwards present them with ridiculous bills the women cant afford.
The women get trapped into the sex trade this way
Just go the Y500 bar at the edge of Golden Gai. No issues. Cheap as chips.
i’ve been there 2 times for a maximum amount of 30 min maximum in total in my first trip to Tokyo and was absolutely disgusted by the amount of people physically trying to hinder me by saying dirty and foul stuff to me, promissing me “japanese girls” and weird sex fetish. I honestly don’t know why anyone would want to go there but that’s just me i guess, kinda surprised to see most of the reaction here.
Haha. It’s a fun place. I got to know some cool people there. It’s a good idea not to follow ppl into bars and stuff, but if you are aware of the establishments or looking into something specific, they are good guides and you can negotiate with them. Just bring some cash and dont bring ur cards if u wanna be safer.