He looked like a normal lost tourist, which is why I approached him with my guard down, but he just straight up asked me for money or a cigarette. Didn’t seem like a recruiter so more confused than anything. Maybe an evolved version of the I don’t speak Japanese please buy my candy folks?
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Same ol’ scam, different coat of paint.
My favorite so far was the one outside of the airport asking for money for a flight home because their flight was cancelled and all of their credit cards were declined.
With the falling Japanese yen and general low prices in Japan, it makes sense that the “begpackers” would eventually come here from their usual haunts in South East Asia and South America.
Haven’t seen them in Japan so far, but encounter them a lot in other Asian countries. My go-to response is to act all concerned about their sad story and say “let me call your embassy for you. They can provide assistance and help you get back to your home country”.
Surprisingly, every one of these poor desperate tourists who were down on their luck refused assistance from their embassy.
There’s one guy who is sitting just outside of the hub in Kyoto asking for spare change…he preys on the drunk gaijins… I bet he’s making a killing
What happens when the police see them?
Oh, he’s probably just auditioning for a new reality show called ‘Panhandlers of Tokyo.’ I’m sure it’s going to be a hit.