Yesterday, a fake monk at Ueno Toshogu Shrine sold a sticker and a bracelet at a high price to foreign tourists. This individual has no affiliation with the shrine. They strongly advise against purchasing stickers from fraudulent monks, and caution visitors to other shrines and temples to be aware of their presence.
9 comments
Source:
https://www.uenotoshogu.com/en/
Details(posted by the official Ueno Toshogu Shrine account in Japanese)
https://twitter.com/uenotoshogu/status/1683640930602209281?s=46&t=knycmsMUsihLygJz5ctleg
This is a very old scam. A fake monk comes up to obvious tourists and tries to “give” them a bracelet. Once the bracelet is accepted, the monk demands a “donation”, usually as much money as they can convince the mark to hand over.
I got scammed with this. I chalked it up to an expensive souvenir. A bit more obvious in hindsight.
As far as I am aware (and someone please correct me if I’m wrong), a legit monk will never ask for money. They will never approach people. They will simply stand to the side with a bowl. Also, I don’t think they ever actually give/sell anything for the money you give. The money you give is purely a donation.
If you’re ever unsure, just don’t give anything. If you want to show support to a temple or shrine, it’s better to simply go to the shrine office and get goshuin or buy a fortune or omamori.
When traveling, always be cautious of people trying to approach you to sell something, especially if it’s a “monk.”
They‘ve also been around Kokyogaien
Dude is just asking to be eaten alive by an angry spirit.
A couple years back I had a “monk” come up to me in Ueno park and be incredibly pushy, slid a bracelet on my wrist. Me being dumb was like… “ohh, thank you!” and then of course he demanded money and got pissed whenever I said no. Surprisingly he didn’t take the bracelet back and I threw it away. Gave me bad vibes lol
New band name: Fraudulent Monks.